Resumen de Food Allergies in Hospitality Management Curricula: One Bite Can Be Deadly

Keith H Mandabach, Priscilla Bloomquist, Wallace Rande, Dawn VanLeeuwen

• Food Allergies in Hospitality Management Curricula: One Bite Can Be Deadly It is estimated that there are about seven million Americans that have some form of food allergies (Sweeney, 2001). Generally, allergy sufferers do not expect food service personnel to have extensive knowledge of allergies. However, they do expect them to be trained to provide accurate answers to questions about the ingredients in the food they eat. The goal of this introductory article on the topic was to determine how and if food allergies are covered in hospitality management school curricula. Respondents indicated that 73% of the programs surveyed include content on food allergies in the hospitality curriculum. Over 81% responded that a food allergy segment should be included in the curriculum yet only 70% claimed their institution had a faculty member qualified to teach the subject. The survey responses indicate most hospitality educators believe that food allergies should be included in the hospitality curriculum, but which class the topic should be included in and who is qualified to teach the topic are unclear.

  “What is food to one is to others bitter poison.” (Lucretius, Roman Philosopher) Educators for the most part believe that hospitality students should be made aware of food allergy health concerns in order to be able to provide necessary information to food sensitive consumers. Hospitality educators should provide information that will help future foodservice operators in preventing adverse reactions and possible fatalities, as well as litigation and loss of business as a result of this type of event.