by David Siegel, Minnesota Restaurant Association, Minnesota Lodging Association Guest Commentary
Restaurant operators across the Twin Cities have been talking recently about a proposal by a St. Paul City Council member regarding providing allergen information to customers. Council member Melvin Carter has a daughter who suffers from a severe allergy to peanuts. He had a very unfortunate experience with a clerk at a retail establishment in St. Paul while trying to find out whether the popcorn sold there was popped in peanut oil.
Ultimately, he found that it was, and thankfully did not purchase the product for his daughter. But this frustrating experience, which had been repeated in other earlier instances with other establishments, led him to the conclusion that “there ought to be a law.”
The hospitality industry knows how serious an allergic reaction to a food item can be, and the industry does recognize that this is a growing problem. Somewhere between 2 percent and 4 percent of the adult population, and up to 8 percent of the youth population, suffer from allergies. Further, the numbers are growing. Restaurant operators will tell you they respond to requests from customers on a daily basis regarding allergens and a wide range of dietary needs.
Where we differ from Council Member Carter is in the approach to solving the issue. He felt that a city ordinance regarding allergen information is necessary. He sat down with the city attorney and drafted an ordinance with several requirements regarding training and providing allergen information to restaurant patrons.
Carter then brought together a task force on which I served. The task force met several times to consider his proposed mandate, and I shared with him our deep concerns. In particular, we stressed opposition to an Allergen Information Handbook that all establishments with a food license in St. Paul would have been required to maintain.
The handbook would have contained labels for every ingredient in a restaurant operation, organized by menu item. Many don’t understand the complexity of the food chain in our country and how difficult and costly such a book would be to create and maintain. Further, we believe it would increase the liability risks for restaurants. Perhaps most significant, the handbook would give consumers with allergies a false sense of security because so much of the issue relates to cross-contamination possibilities.
Through conversations with industry, Melvin Carter has come to see the challenges with the handbook and has decided against this approach for solving the problem. We commend his willingness to listen to industry.
As we have considered this issue, a broad coalition of business groups has come together to seek the best solutions. This includes the Minnesota Restaurant Association, Minnesota Lodging Association, Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association, Minnesota Retailers Association, the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, industry vendors and other partners.
Rather than mandates, we have recommended instead a voluntary effort to educate and raise awareness among restaurants across the state. We believe this can best be accomplished through industry and organizational partnerships. For those with allergies, the key is the building of relationships and the direct communication between industry operators and their customers.
We oppose mandates regarding this issue, but have committed with great sincerity to providing information and training to the industry and look forward to fulfilling that commitment.
David Siegel, CAE, IOM, is executive vice president of the Minnesota Restaurant Association and Minnesota Lodging Association.
Restaurant operators across the Twin Cities have been talking recently about a proposal by a St. Paul City Council member regarding providing allergen information to customers. Council member Melvin Carter has a daughter who suffers from a severe allergy to peanuts. He had a very unfortunate experience with a clerk at a retail establishment in St. Paul while trying to find out whether the popcorn sold there was popped in peanut oil.
Ultimately, he found that it was, and thankfully did not purchase the product for his daughter. But this frustrating experience, which had been repeated in other earlier instances with other establishments, led him to the conclusion that “there ought to be a law.”
The hospitality industry knows how serious an allergic reaction to a food item can be, and the industry does recognize that this is a growing problem. Somewhere between 2 percent and 4 percent of the adult population, and up to 8 percent of the youth population, suffer from allergies. Further, the numbers are growing. Restaurant operators will tell you they respond to requests from customers on a daily basis regarding allergens and a wide range of dietary needs.
Where we differ from Council Member Carter is in the approach to solving the issue. He felt that a city ordinance regarding allergen information is necessary. He sat down with the city attorney and drafted an ordinance with several requirements regarding training and providing allergen information to restaurant patrons.
Carter then brought together a task force on which I served. The task force met several times to consider his proposed mandate, and I shared with him our deep concerns. In particular, we stressed opposition to an Allergen Information Handbook that all establishments with a food license in St. Paul would have been required to maintain.
The handbook would have contained labels for every ingredient in a restaurant operation, organized by menu item. Many don’t understand the complexity of the food chain in our country and how difficult and costly such a book would be to create and maintain. Further, we believe it would increase the liability risks for restaurants. Perhaps most significant, the handbook would give consumers with allergies a false sense of security because so much of the issue relates to cross-contamination possibilities.
Through conversations with industry, Melvin Carter has come to see the challenges with the handbook and has decided against this approach for solving the problem. We commend his willingness to listen to industry.
As we have considered this issue, a broad coalition of business groups has come together to seek the best solutions. This includes the Minnesota Restaurant Association, Minnesota Lodging Association, Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association, Minnesota Retailers Association, the Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, industry vendors and other partners.
Rather than mandates, we have recommended instead a voluntary effort to educate and raise awareness among restaurants across the state. We believe this can best be accomplished through industry and organizational partnerships. For those with allergies, the key is the building of relationships and the direct communication between industry operators and their customers.
We oppose mandates regarding this issue, but have committed with great sincerity to providing information and training to the industry and look forward to fulfilling that commitment.
David Siegel, CAE, IOM, is executive vice president of the Minnesota Restaurant Association and Minnesota Lodging Association.
Source: http://www.finance-commerce.com/ http://www.finance-commerce.com/article.cfm/2009/09/19/Association-update-When-it-comes-to-allergens-a-mandate-isnt-the-answer
Hospitality Careers Training Center
2751 Hennepin Ave S #297
Minneapolis, MN 55408-1002
(612) 216-3987
www.hospitalitytrainingcenter.com
No comments:
Post a Comment