Lynsi Snyder, president of In-N-Out Burger, has proved herself a danger to the food allergy community.
The company uses buns from bakeries that add trace amounts of sesame to their products to circumvent requirements introduced by the FASTER Act. This is an awful practice that underscores how these companies value profits over safety.
In the post, Snyder claims she is a mom of children with food allergies who follows standard precautions:
As a mom of children with allergies, I completely understand the seriousness of allergies. I also recognize the difficulty of eating out when you have a child with allergies. My children always carry EpiPens as a precaution.
All well and good until three paragraphs later when she spouts this nonsense:
Although my son has a sesame allergy, we’ve learned the small amount of sesame flour in the hamburger buns does not cause a reaction in him.
This is problematic for two reasons that every food allergy parent, much less the president of a national burger chain, should know.
First, we’re happy her kids carry their epinephrine because she has no idea what her son’s current threshold for sesame is and how it might change over time. In other words, if he is truly allergic to sesame, just because he hasn’t had a reaction to date doesn’t mean he won’t suffer full-blown anaphylaxis the next time.
Second, what message was she hoping to convey? That since her son hasn’t reacted, maybe your child won’t either? Does she realize that there are uninformed parents out there who may think performing an oral food challenge at an In-N-Out is acceptable based on her cavalier experience?
NO! NEVER TEST A FOOD ON A CHILD YOU KNOW TO BE ALLERGIC! Testing reactivity to an allergen is only acceptable during an oral food challenge performed with strict oversight by an allergist in their office when they determine it is appropriate and only if they have the means to treat anaphylaxis should it occur.
We suggest Ms Snyder add a disclaimer to all future posts, warning that her content may contain anecdotes dangerous to the food allergy community.
Company will Add Trace Amount of Allergen to All Products to Skirt Safety Regulation
