Peanut Allergy and Work

[jabjab]

Friend of mine works for a bigger oil and gas company downtown and he has a severe peanut allergy and he notified his work of it. They had some sort of lunch celebration last week and the admin who ordered the food let them know that there are people on the floor who are allergic to peanuts and other nuts. He ate the lunch and had a extreme reaction and was taken to emergency for it. There ended up being cashews in one of the dishes.

His company has a big concept of safety and it almost seems like its being brushed under the rug. I have a nut allergy as well and it made me aware that notifying people just isn't enough.

[vengie]

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Friend of mine works for a bigger oil and gas company downtown and he has a severe peanut allergy and he notified his work of it. They had some sort of lunch celebration last week and the admin who ordered the food let them know that there are people on the floor who are allergic to peanuts and other nuts. He ate the lunch and had a extreme reaction and was taken to emergency for it. There ended up being cashews in one of the dishes.

His company has a big concept of safety and it almost seems like its being brushed under the rug. I have a nut allergy as well and it made me aware that notifying people just isn't enough.

Go on...

[JRSC00LUDE]

Well, if it was the vendor who screwed up despite being warned what is the company exactly supposed to do? I assume they assisted in medical aid and they'll perform their due diligence next time/informed the vendor they screwed up and hurt someone?

And other than notifying people to make them aware, what is "enough"? It's his/your responsibility to take care of yourself. Maybe that includes packing a lunch in these scenarios if it's that drastic.

[riander5]

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Friend of mine works for a bigger oil and gas company downtown and he has a severe peanut allergy and he notified his work of it. They had some sort of lunch celebration last week and the admin who ordered the food let them know that there are people on the floor who are allergic to peanuts and other nuts. He ate the lunch and had a extreme reaction and was taken to emergency for it. There ended up being cashews in one of the dishes.

His company has a big concept of safety and it almost seems like its being brushed under the rug. I have a nut allergy as well and it made me aware that notifying people just isn't enough.

Shitty deal

[ExtraSlow]

That should be a recordable incident. He shoudl talk to the HSE group and make sure its written down.

[Mitsu3000gt]

If you have a severe food allergy, at the end of the day you are responsible for making sure you don't eat anything you shouldn't. Ask about ingredients, food prep procedures, etc. until you are comfortable. Never trust anything you can't verify yourself. Sometimes things like peanut oil are used in production/packaging but not listed in ingredients, which sucks. Cross contamination can also happen easily and unintentionally. It's super annoying for sure, and that's why you always carry an epi pen. Personally I wouldn't trust a lunch ordered by a company for the masses if I had a potentially deadly allergy.

It's hard to place blame in this type of scenario, for example the admin assistant who ordered that might have asked for no peanuts, and the restaurant could have (knowingly or unknowingly) still used a particular ingredient that had a trace or something. I genuinely feel bad for people who have to constantly keep an eye out for this sort of thing, I have one friend who is badly allergic to peanuts and another to shellfish and it sucks.

[suntan]

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Friend of mine works for a bigger oil and gas company downtown and he has a severe peanut allergy and he notified his work of it. They had some sort of lunch celebration last week and the admin who ordered the food let them know that there are people on the floor who are allergic to peanuts and other nuts. He ate the lunch and had a extreme reaction and was taken to emergency for it. There ended up being cashews in one of the dishes.

His company has a big concept of safety and it almost seems like its being brushed under the rug. I have a nut allergy as well and it made me aware that notifying people just isn't enough.

Just sayin

[jabjab]

Not really a post to put blame on anyone just more of even if you take the precautions its just not worth eating food you don't know. It has made me second guess a trip I wanted to plan to Thailand due to my own peanut allergy.

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That should be a recordable incident. He shoudl talk to the HSE group and make sure its written down.

I asked if anyone came to talk to him about it and he said nobody has. You'd think someone from HSE would talk to him or HR

[vengie]

Was he carrying an epi-pen?

[Mitsu3000gt]

What steps did he take before he ate the food to ensure there were no peanuts/nuts in it? Did he get burned after proper due diligence, or did he trust that the company would investigate the ingredients/prep etc. on his behalf?

[jabjab]

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Was he carrying an epi-pen?

Yea, he had one at his desk but opted out to use benedryl to buy some time. I never knew this but you're still required to go to the hosptial even if you use an epi pen. He was able to know the signs and went straight there

[gmc72]

Tell him not to wait for someone to come to him. Go see them first. Otherwise it could get missed. Companies are all about employee safety these days. If we see someone doing something unsafe, we're supposed to report it. Seems a little "Big Brother"-ish to me, but it's the policy.

[jabjab]

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What steps did he take before he ate the food to ensure there were no peanuts/nuts in it? Did he get burned after proper due diligence, or did he trust that the company would investigate the ingredients/prep etc. on his behalf?

He informed the admin that he has a peanut/nut allergy and there are other people on the floor with one too. Admin informed the restaurant about this. He just thought it was safe to eat as the restaurant was made aware of the allergy. He probably should have asked again but how would they have known once it was delivered? Safest bet for anyone with an allergy is just to pack your own lunch

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Tell him not to wait for someone to come to him. Go see them first. Otherwise it could get missed. Companies are all about employee safety these days. If we see someone doing something unsafe, we're supposed to report it. Seems a little "Big Brother"-ish to me, but it's the policy.

he's afraid that he might get in trouble for bringing it up , kind of like stirring the pot.

[Skrilla]

Being someone who has a nut allergy, I ALWAYS carry Epi Pen, or don't eat it.

[Mitsu3000gt]

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He informed the admin that he has a peanut/nut allergy and there are other people on the floor with one too. Admin informed the restaurant about this. He just thought it was safe to eat as the restaurant was made aware of the allergy. He probably should have asked again but how would they have known once it was delivered? Safest bet for anyone with an allergy is just to pack your own lunch

Yup, exactly. It sucks and it's super inconvenient, but the person with the allergy is mostly responsible at the end of the day. Best thing to do is call the restaurant, and ask questions about ingredients and prep. Any mass-produced work lunch though would probably be a risk anyway because the people making it probably don't really care OR they might now know the details of the ingredient sources. For example if an employee is used to putting nuts in a dish that they make 100 times a day, it could easily be a mistake. Or if they use a product that has peanut oil in the container to keep things from sticking together, they might still use that ingredient thinking it's OK.

[jabjab]

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Being someone who has a nut allergy, I ALWAYS carry Epi Pen, or don't eat it.

are you symptoms right away aggressive or do you have a slow onset of symptoms?

[tonytiger55]

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NIt has made me second guess a trip I wanted to plan to Thailand due to my own peanut allergy.

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No no.. you should go on your trip. Thailand is a amazing place. The cocacola there tastes amazing.

[Skrilla]

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are you symptoms right away aggressive or do you have a slow onset of symptoms?

Mine are quite aggressive, especially for peanuts.

[Sophal]

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Being someone who has a nut allergy, I ALWAYS carry Epi Pen, or don't eat it.

This!!!

When meals are provided, companies are accommodating as they can. In my experience, it's usually a gluten or non gluten option. When doing bulk food orders, they usually can't accommodate everyone's preference. It's either eat or don't. Your buddy fucked up and is still living in elementary school. HSE won't care because it's your buddy should have known better. We're suppose to be functioning adults here.

[Buster]

Is your friend voting Liberal or NDP?