Food Protection Trends - May/June 2023 - 211

TABLE 3. Food allergy attitudes of owners and managers (n = 102)
Attitudes
I am confident in my knowledge of food allergens.b
It is important to me that all employees working in my restaurant receive food allergy training.b
Employee compliance with the restaurant's food allergy policies and procedures is vital for public health.
I would be interested in receiving the latest information about food allergies.
My restaurant should regularly provide the latest food allergy information to employees.
Employee food allergy training is essential to avoid food allergic reactions.
My restaurant should provide food allergy training to employees handling food (servers).
Employees that receive food allergy training always follow food allergy policies and procedures.
My restaurant should provide food allergen information to consumers with food allergies.
It is not the responsibility of my restaurant if a food allergic reaction occurs outside the restaurant from
food purchased at my restaurant.
All my staff members know what to do in case of a suspected food allergic reaction.
All members of my staff are knowledgeable about my restaurant's food allergy policies and procedures.
It is important to provide food allergy training in multiple languages.
All members of my staff are knowledgeable about food allergens.
When food is ordered for delivery (UberEats, etc.), the restaurant is not responsible if a food allergic
reaction occurs.
There is a need to develop food allergy policies and procedures in my restaurant.
It is not the responsibility of my restaurant if a food allergic reaction occurs in the restaurantb
My restaurant does not have food allergy policies and procedures for employees because no food allergy
incidents have ever occurred in my restaurantb
Not all restaurants need to comply with food allergy policies and proceduresb
ªRating scale: 1, strongly disagree; 5, strongly agree.
b
Reverse coded items
in the U.S. foodservice industry (30), but in this study, 67.3%
were male. The average participant age was 26 to 33 years
(n = 33, 32.4%), which is above the national average age for
U.S. restaurant owners and managers (27.1%) (30). More
than three-quarters of U.S. foodservice workers (77.9%)
have some sort of food safety training certification (i.e.,
ServSafe, National Environmental Health Association) (18)
but not specifically food allergy training. Massachusetts,
Maryland, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Virginia have laws
for food allergy management in restaurants (12). Illinois
requires at least one person on staff in the restaurant at all
times when the restaurant is operating that has received
food allergy training and allergen awareness (12). New
York, NY, and St. Paul, MN, require food allergy posters
to be posted in restaurants (12). In our study, only 52% of
participants had food allergy certification. This finding is
not surprising because Florida does not require foodservice
workers to undergo food allergy training. A disconnect
exists because Florida requires all foodservice employees to
know about food allergies, the top eight food allergens, and
describe common symptoms of an allergic reaction (11), but
providing food allergy training is not required.
Participants demonstrated food allergy knowledge,
as evidenced by the average knowledge (7.68 ± 2.11 from
10 possible points). In a study of restaurant managers
(n = 278) by Radke et al., more than 80% of managers were
able to identify major food allergens, allergy symptoms,
and severity of food allergy reactions, and managers had
significantly higher food allergy knowledge than those that
prepared food (32). Only 57.8% of participants in our study
correctly identified that proteins in foods cause a food allergy
reaction, suggesting participants were aware of food allergens
and allergy symptoms, but not all could identify what food
component causes an allergic reaction. Food allergy eduMay/June
Food Protection Trends 211
M
4.28
4.05
4.00
4.00
3.81
3.78
3.73
3.63
3.63
3.62
3.58
3.57
3.56
3.48
3.17
3.17
2.91
2.84
2.70
SD
0.64
0.84
1.25
0.98
1.01
0.97
1.09
0.97
1.12
1.16
1.02
1.08
1.09
1.04
1.26
1.15
1.21
1.41
1.26

Food Protection Trends - May/June 2023

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