A food allergy is when your body’s immune system reacts to a food protein because it has mistaken that food protein as a threat. Symptoms can range from mild to life-threatening. 

Symptoms usually start as soon as a few minutes after eating a food and as long as two hours after. In some cases, after the first symptoms go away, a second wave of symptoms comes back one to four hours later (or sometimes even longer). This second wave is called a biphasic reaction. 

It's the responsibility of the restaurant to provide allergen information. Food businesses across Europe are required by the law to inform customers if the food they serve contains ingredients known to trigger allergic reactions. 

Yes, if you have suffered an allergic reaction after eating food at a restaurant because they neglected to inform you of certain allergens contained in their foods, you could be entitled to financial compensation through a food allergy compensation claim. Contact us here to speak to a specialist food allergy solicitor. 

Yes, Pre-packed food must have an ingredients list. Allergenic ingredients must be emphasised in some way every time they appear in the ingredients list. 

Yes, if you have suffered from an allergic reaction due to undeclared allergens or ingredients in a food product Contact us here as you could be entitled to financial compensation through a food allergy compensation claim. 

Whilst every one of us is different, and may suffer a different reaction as a result of a food allergy, the symptoms of a food allergy almost always develop a few seconds or minutes after eating the food. 

Some people may develop a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis), which can be life threatening. 

 

The most common type of allergic reaction to food is known as an IgE-mediated food allergy. 

 

The Food Standards Agency set out a list of 14 different foods that are required to be correctly labelled and highlighted as being allergens. This list is made up of: 

 

If you are eating out, in a restaurant or café, make it clear to staff that you suffer from food allergies from the off-set. You should ask questions of staff members, such as if they have received training about dealing with food allergies. You can also ask about how the establishment deals with issues such as cross-contamination, or ask to speak to the chef or manager about the options available to you as an allergy sufferer. 

 

In order to minimise the risk of personal injury from a food -based allergy, you should ask to read the allergen information yourself, and not simply rely on a member of staff to relay this information to you. 

 

MG Legal’s solicitors that deal with food allergy claims, often deal with cases where our clients have done everything they can to make the establishment aware of their allergies, but are unfortunate enough to suffer an allergic reaction due to a food allergy, resulting from the negligence of the restaurant or other eating establishment. If this happens, and you, or one of your friends of family suffers an allergic reaction to the food in a restaurant, contact MG Legal’s team of expert personal injury solicitors, as soon as you are able. Our solicitors specialising in food allergy personal injury claims accept food allergy claims, on a NO WIN NO FEE basis, with no financial risk to you, our client. 

Fortunately, not all food allergies lead to death. However, in one sad case a Manchester University Student, who was only aged 18, had visited Almost Famous in Manchester, where they explained their allergies to a staff member. They accordingly chose something they believed to be safe for them to eat. Tragically, the student later died following an allergic reaction to the food. 

 

Following an inquest, it was ruled that the student had done everything they could to avoid triggering their allergies, as well as ensuring they had covered themselves in case their allergies were triggered, by carrying an Epi-Pen and inhaler. The restaurant, however, was found to have mis-communicated on several occasions, with the student’s order, and special requirements, going missing in the restaurant’ kitchen, which led to the student’s food being marinated in buttermilk, and the student’s allergies being triggered. In this instance negligence is clear to be seen, as are the horrendous effects that restaurants not listening to customers’ food requirements can have on our families. 

 

The consequences of a restaurant not paying attention to a customer’s food allergies are again illustrated quite clearly in the following case. An Indian restaurant owner with a “cavalier attitude” was imprisoned for six years for the manslaughter of a customer with a peanut allergy, after he supplied him with a curry containing peanuts. 

 

Mr Wilson, was meticulous about his condition and asked for no nuts when staff at the Indian Garden, Easingwold, North Yorkshire, cooked his chicken tikka masala takeaway in January 2014. 

 

When the restaurant failed to provide a nut-free curry, causing Mr Wilson to die as a result, police and trading standards launched an investigation following Wilson’s death. Groundnut powder was found in the kitchen of the Indian Garden and had contaminated other ingredients. A test purchaser went to the Indian Garden the day after Wilson’s death and was assured by a staff member that they could buy a nut-free curry.