Living with food allergies: How to deal with restaurants

DETROIT – Ask anyone with a food allergy or intolerance what it's like to go to a restaurant and you may hear some horror stories. However, it looks like things are improving in Michigan with state lawmakers taking action and some restaurants going above and beyond to accommodate people living with food allergies. 

Gabe Hertz is one restaurant owner who is striving to make a change. Hertz and his wife opened "Renee's Pizzeria" in Troy in February 2014. It's named after their daughter, who is also the reason why the pizzeria exists. 

Recommended Videos



"My daughter has celiac," Hertz said. "And everywhere we went, she would get cross-contaminated." 

Celiac disease is an immune system reaction to gluten, a protein commonly found in bread products. Cross-contamination happens when foods that are supposed to be allergy-free come in contact with allergens and then cause an unpleasant reaction (or worse) for customers who thought they were getting an allergy-free dish.

"This is truly a gluten-free, nut-free facility. We're very strict about it. We have signs on the door telling you you cannot bring contamination into the restaurant," Hertz said.

Sensitivity to gluten or food allergies can make finding an accommodating restaurant that understands the risks very difficult. The customers at Renee's Gourmet Pizzeria tell Ruth to the Rescue they're so glad to have a place that really puts them first. 

"It's good for me because I don't have to worry about any cross-contamination," said Linda Donehoo of Royal Oak, who stopped by for lunch. 

Lawmakers Raise Awareness 

Michigan lawmakers took action in recent months to to raise food allergy awareness. The legislation referred to as Senate Bill 730 was signed into law in early 2015. It asks restaurants to have one food safety manager on-site. The law also urges restaurants to have alerts on menus or signs telling customers to share any food allergy information with their servers. Finally, it asks restaurants to post allergy awareness signs in the staff areas. 

The law doesn't impose any penalties if restaurants don't follow through, but sponsors hope it will raise awareness and encourage restaurants to start conversations with customers.

Some Restaurants Ahead of The Curve 

Many restaurants in Michigan are already ahead of the curve, among them is P.F. Chang's. "We don't guess. We can't guess. "You're playing with someone's health," said Ted Teeter, operating partner at the P.F. Chang's in Troy. 

P.F. Chang's has requirements that go beyond the new state law. A manager is already required to come to your table and break down the menu to meet any special needs. They call it the "matrix," providing customersliving with allergies with a menu tailored to their needs.

"If you came into my restaurant and you said your friend has a shell fish allergy, I would hand you this and thank you for joining us. This is everything you can have on our menu and it's there in a nutshell," Teeter said.

P.F. Changs' dedication hasn't gone unnoticed. It was named one of the best places to eat in the country by AllergyEats.com, an allergy-friendly restaurant database.

Rounding Up Allergy-Free Restaurants 

"Well, I started AllergyEats to basically solve a problem," said founder Paul Antico.

Antico is another father who was inspired by his children to take action. Three of his five children are living with food allergies.

"We often had a problem finding places for them to dine out," Antico said.

AllergyEats is a crowd-sourced website collecting information on restaurants based on peer reviews. Antico says it's a great resource for families trying to find a place to eat that will comfortably and confidently accommodate food allergies. This year it ranked Chipotle, P.F. Chang's, China Bistro, and Outback Steakhouse at the top of the list.

Ruth to the Rescue asked Antico, on a scale of one (not allergy-friendly at all) to 10 (very accommodating), where do American restaurants stand?

"I'd say we're in the middle," he said. "I'd say we're about a five, but the trend is going in the right direction... There's some great training programs out there now... there's greater legislation."

Antico says commitment and training are two factors that will greatly improve a restaurants response to customers with food allergies. He says the commitment needs to come from the very top and trickle down to everyone.

"You really need that whole restaurant being trained, which sounds like a lot, but it's not very onerous in either time or money, and that's the beauty of being allergy-friendly," Antico said.

To learn more about AllergyEats, go to Allergyeats.com.