Merchants of shame: Never eating here again.

[Danika]

My husband is soy-intolerant.  It is nearly impossible to go to a chain restaurant and avoid soy oil (used for cooking and in salad dressing) or soy flour.  We have had to become major locavores, because we can ask the chef directly about the ingredients and be assured they are honest with the answers.  On the positive side, I love that I know our milk is sourced from a guy named Warren, who also supplies cream to Jeni, who makes ice cream at the parlor down the street.

Is your husband able to tolerate soy-lecithin? It's in so many things. I have major issues with soy-lecithin. People who are allergic to soy are usually allergic to the protein, and soy-lecithin doesn't have soy protein, so they are generally fine with it. But I have nerve damage, likely from Vitamin B6 toxicity, and soy-lecithin is very high in Vitamin B6. It's an emulsifier used in fillers, like in chocolate instead of cocoa butter.

[JacklynHyde]

It mostly depends on the amount.  He can eat soy sauce without a problem because it's mostly water and salt.  A six-pack of Chicken McNuggets will put him in the hospital with gastro issues.  When we're on the road, the only fast-food place we trust is Wendy's, because we know it's safe.

[YummyMummy66]

I have never heard of artificial sweeteners being in so much before, but then I love sweet n low, so I would probably never notice something like that.

But, if I was highly sensitive to this product, I would most certainly be asking about it being in my food when going out to eat at any place other than my own home. 

I don't think any restaurant can possibly list all possible allergens on their menus.  At this time, it seems to me that I see the most common allergens listed on menus, labels, etc., (milk, soy, nuts, wheat, gluten, etc).  I have never seen artificial sweetener listed anywhere.

Like another poster, I don't see this situtation being the restaurant's fault.  Your sister could have avoided her sickness by asking that one important question before she ordered her food. 

However, no matter what the reason, usually when someone gets highly ill after eating somewhere, they just cannot eat at the place again or that type of food again. My dh got food poisoning one year on shrimp scampi.  He has never touched the stuff again.  One Christmas holiday season, he got sick from a virus, but had eaten Kentucky Fried Chicken and Subway that day and he has not eaten from those places either as of yet.

[JacklynHyde]

A friend of mine has been pondering opening a restaurant that caters to tailoring a menu to individual customers based on their allergies / intolerance / voluntary avoidance.  Fill out a questionnaire and the chef will give you the daily selections.  The name of this proposed establishment?  Snowflake.

[VorFemme]

Lil Sis is used to eating food made with "real" ingredients *at restaraunts* (edited to add) - veggies, grain, sugar, milk, meat, etc. - not "faux" ingredients.  So am I.

I have no known allergies to food (I started feeling an itchy mouth after a salad with greens from my mom's garden two years ago - but Mom couldn't remember what all she'd picked & shredded for the salad).  My reactions are more along the lines of texture & tastes that I have to avoid or start gagging......

Lil Sis will no longer be eating out without asking about artificial sweetener, even if she's drinking water with a slice of lemon in it - because of that trip to the ER two weeks ago. 

She is immune suppressed - she will be following up in the next couple of weeks with her doctor (a rare "House-disease of the week thing") to see if the exposure to the unexpected allergen is going to cause long term issues - she'd never run into artificial sweetener in FOOD before and didn't think about it.  With this reaction and the other thing in mind - she will start asking about it.  But you aren't an SS if you've never had a problem with something before and don't think to ask about possible ingredients...I have run into people who ask about every possible ingredient under the sun, are told that that is NOT present (I made it - it wasn't), and then decided not to eat anything because "they just couldn't be sure".

"Just Couldn't Be Sure" was a bit of an SS - but if they'd been lied to in the past - I can sort of understand.  Lil Sis has been handed food that was "free" from her three allergens, only to find out that they had sprinkled in a fiber additive made from flax seed (which causes fierce itching, gastric issues, and is also on the list of things to avoid because of her nerve condition/auto-immune thing).  We don't eat at Panera Bread without triple checking the ingredient list for that reason - and she has the apple instead of any bread with her salad, no dressing, and water with lemon if we do eat there (it's been three years and two new diagnoses since we ate there).

[kherbert05]

I have run into people who ask about every possible ingredient under the sun, are told that that is NOT present (I made it - it wasn't), and then decided not to eat anything because "they just couldn't be sure".

"Just Couldn't Be Sure" was a bit of an SS - but if they'd been lied to in the past - I can sort of understand.  Lil Sis has been handed food that was "free" from her three allergens, only to find out that they had sprinkled in a fiber additive made from flax seed (which causes fierce itching, gastric issues, and is also on the list of things to avoid because of her nerve condition/auto-immune thing).  We don't eat at Panera Bread without triple checking the ingredient list for that reason - and she has the apple instead of any bread with her salad, no dressing, and water with lemon if we do eat there (it's been three years and two new diagnoses since we ate there).

I've been the "Just couldn't be sure" person, but only in restaraunts not with friends. Sometimes I get this gut something is wrong feeling. If I ignore it - I land in the ER. I figure that I'm smelling peanuts very faintly.

[VorFemme]

I have run into people who ask about every possible ingredient under the sun, are told that that is NOT present (I made it - it wasn't), and then decided not to eat anything because "they just couldn't be sure".

"Just Couldn't Be Sure" was a bit of an SS - but if they'd been lied to in the past - I can sort of understand.  Lil Sis has been handed food that was "free" from her three allergens, only to find out that they had sprinkled in a fiber additive made from flax seed (which causes fierce itching, gastric issues, and is also on the list of things to avoid because of her nerve condition/auto-immune thing).  We don't eat at Panera Bread without triple checking the ingredient list for that reason - and she has the apple instead of any bread with her salad, no dressing, and water with lemon if we do eat there (it's been three years and two new diagnoses since we ate there).

I've been the "Just couldn't be sure" person, but only in restaraunts not with friends. Sometimes I get this gut something is wrong feeling. If I ignore it - I land in the ER. I figure that I'm smelling peanuts very faintly.

Flax seed doesn't have a smell that I can detect - poppy seeds and sesame seeds I can detect, no allergy to them, though.

And I'd believe that you could smell any peanut oil - the stuff smells very different than the vegetable oils or canola oils in my cabinet - even if only smell it faintly enough to loose your appetite for the item in question.  Your body KNOWS that that smell means very bad things happen.......

[poundcake]

I have run into people who ask about every possible ingredient under the sun, are told that that is NOT present (I made it - it wasn't), and then decided not to eat anything because "they just couldn't be sure".

"Just Couldn't Be Sure" was a bit of an SS - but if they'd been lied to in the past - I can sort of understand.  Lil Sis has been handed food that was "free" from her three allergens, only to find out that they had sprinkled in a fiber additive made from flax seed (which causes fierce itching, gastric issues, and is also on the list of things to avoid because of her nerve condition/auto-immune thing).  We don't eat at Panera Bread without triple checking the ingredient list for that reason - and she has the apple instead of any bread with her salad, no dressing, and water with lemon if we do eat there (it's been three years and two new diagnoses since we ate there).

I've been the "Just couldn't be sure" person, but only in restaraunts not with friends. Sometimes I get this gut something is wrong feeling. If I ignore it - I land in the ER. I figure that I'm smelling peanuts very faintly.

I have a friend who is a "just couldn't be sure", which doesn't bother me. What does, though, is when she starts getting snarky with the server, and then complaining to us after if the server doesn't know exactly what sort of processing the flour in the pasta has been through. After several of these embarrassments where the rest of us end up apologizing to waitstaff afterwards I just stopped going out to eat with her.

[alkira6]

I have run into people who ask about every possible ingredient under the sun, are told that that is NOT present (I made it - it wasn't), and then decided not to eat anything because "they just couldn't be sure".

"Just Couldn't Be Sure" was a bit of an SS - but if they'd been lied to in the past - I can sort of understand.  Lil Sis has been handed food that was "free" from her three allergens, only to find out that they had sprinkled in a fiber additive made from flax seed (which causes fierce itching, gastric issues, and is also on the list of things to avoid because of her nerve condition/auto-immune thing).  We don't eat at Panera Bread without triple checking the ingredient list for that reason - and she has the apple instead of any bread with her salad, no dressing, and water with lemon if we do eat there (it's been three years and two new diagnoses since we ate there).

I've been the "Just couldn't be sure" person, but only in restaurants not with friends. Sometimes I get this gut something is wrong feeling. If I ignore it - I land in the ER. I figure that I'm smelling peanuts very faintly.

I have a friend who is a "just couldn't be sure", which doesn't bother me. What does, though, is when she starts getting sparky with the server, and then complaining to us after if the server doesn't know exactly what sort of processing the flour in the pasta has been through. After several of these embarrassments where the rest of us end up apologizing to waitstaff afterwards I just stopped going out to eat with her.

Okay, getting snarky doesn't help anyone - I went out with DH last week and as soon as I mentioned the word "allergy" you could see the server brasing himself.  All I wanted was for him to check and make sure that the Sangria didn't have strawberries as part of the fruit or use any juices that contain strawberry. We couldn't find out/We can't be sure is an acceptable answer to me - it means that I can't eat/drink whatever it is.

[Twik]

And I'd believe that you could smell any peanut oil - the stuff smells very different than the vegetable oils or canola oils in my cabinet - even if only smell it faintly enough to loose your appetite for the item in question.  Your body KNOWS that that smell means very bad things happen.......

Also, my own (anecdotal) evidence is that you can smell allergens that other people would swear are odourless. I developed an allergy to a supposedly odourless chemical, and I swear I could smell it intensely as soon as someone opened the bottle across the room.

[blue2000]

And I'd believe that you could smell any peanut oil - the stuff smells very different than the vegetable oils or canola oils in my cabinet - even if only smell it faintly enough to loose your appetite for the item in question.  Your body KNOWS that that smell means very bad things happen.......

Also, my own (anecdotal) evidence is that you can smell allergens that other people would swear are odourless. I developed an allergy to a supposedly odourless chemical, and I swear I could smell it intensely as soon as someone opened the bottle across the room.

Very true, in my own experience. Allergen smells seem worse than anything else.

The other day I could have sworn someone broke a bottle of laundry detergent at work (I am violently allergic to several common ingredients in most detergent). This stuff does smell, but really - I was getting nauseous from the stench and I have very little sense of smell at all. I was also starting to wonder why on earth no one came to clean the darn stuff up!

Found out later that they were setting up a display nearby and they had a large sealed and wrapped pallet of the stuff. No open/broken ones at all that I know of, and I still couldn't get within twenty feet of it.

[jedikaiti]

And I'd believe that you could smell any peanut oil - the stuff smells very different than the vegetable oils or canola oils in my cabinet - even if only smell it faintly enough to loose your appetite for the item in question.  Your body KNOWS that that smell means very bad things happen.......

Also, my own (anecdotal) evidence is that you can smell allergens that other people would swear are odourless. I developed an allergy to a supposedly odourless chemical, and I swear I could smell it intensely as soon as someone opened the bottle across the room.

Very true, in my own experience. Allergen smells seem worse than anything else.

The other day I could have sworn someone broke a bottle of laundry detergent at work (I am violently allergic to several common ingredients in most detergent). This stuff does smell, but really - I was getting nauseous from the stench and I have very little sense of smell at all. I was also starting to wonder why on earth no one came to clean the darn stuff up!

Found out later that they were setting up a display nearby and they had a large sealed and wrapped pallet of the stuff. No open/broken ones at all that I know of, and I still couldn't get within twenty feet of it.

The scents in detergents drive my nose bonkers - I don't care if every shelf & the floor in that aisle was just scrubbed down and every bottle sealed and guaranteed not leaking, when I have to go down that aisle, I make it a fast trip!

[VorFemme]

Update on Lil Sis - the food has not been "comped" but she's waiting on the emergency room bill and the results of an appointment with her doctor next week.

She is having symptoms that there is a set back in her medical condition (at least one of them) following the meal - nerve pain that had been slowly going away is back at the level that it was when she just got out of the hospital a year ago. 

If we'd asked about artificial sweetener......but everything was COOKED and heating most artificial sweetners breaks them down & changes the taste.....so we didn't expect artificial sweeteners in the heated sauces and foods.......I wonder if the development of Splenda (left handed sugar) has changed that?

[Mental Magpie]

Update on Lil Sis - the food has not been "comped" but she's waiting on the emergency room bill and the results of an appointment with her doctor next week.

She is having symptoms that there is a set back in her medical condition (at least one of them) following the meal - nerve pain that had been slowly going away is back at the level that it was when she just got out of the hospital a year ago. 

If we'd asked about artificial sweetener......but everything was COOKED and heating most artificial sweetners breaks them down & changes the taste.....so we didn't expect artificial sweeteners in the heated sauces and foods.......I wonder if the development of Splenda (left handed sugar) has changed that?

Why should it be?  I'm not being flippant, I just want to know why you expect that it should be because I don't.  They didn't do anything wrong, they didn't tell her that there wasn't artificial sweetener in it when it was, so why would they comp it?  It is very unfortunate that this happened to your sister, but I don't think the restaurant is at fault.

[VorFemme]

Update on Lil Sis - the food has not been "comped" but she's waiting on the emergency room bill and the results of an appointment with her doctor next week.

She is having symptoms that there is a set back in her medical condition (at least one of them) following the meal - nerve pain that had been slowly going away is back at the level that it was when she just got out of the hospital a year ago. 

If we'd asked about artificial sweetener......but everything was COOKED and heating most artificial sweetners breaks them down & changes the taste.....so we didn't expect artificial sweeteners in the heated sauces and foods.......I wonder if the development of Splenda (left handed sugar) has changed that?

Why should it be?  I'm not being flippant, I just want to know why you expect that it should be because I don't.  They didn't do anything wrong, they didn't tell her that there wasn't artificial sweetener in it when it was, so why would they comp it?  It is very unfortunate that this happened to your sister, but I don't think the restaurant is at fault.

We grew up before peanut allergies and a lot of others were widely publicized - and ALL food was made with real ingredients except "diet sodas" (which were limited to the one that tasted like metal to our family members so we didn't use it).

The development of more sweeteners that taste sweet but not metallic to most people and artificial fats has been a recent development.  If you are shopping for food at the grocery store - that information is mentioned on the labels or at least on the nutrition labels (aspartame & peanut products are, at least) even if nothing is on the front of the box, can, or jar about "Lite", "Diet", or "Reduced Calorie".

Going to a restaurant for a meal was a bit of the same expectation - if they aren't using "real food ingredients", then there should be some mention that they might have artificial fat, artificial sweetener, or artificial meat products in the food. 

I've since learned that apparently this is a very Twentieth Century attitude and that in the Twenty-First Century, having "artificial" ingredients in your food at a restaurant should apparently be taken for granted, not just in the diet sodas - even if there is no mention of "reduced calorie" on the menu.