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Perhaps the waiter was miffed at the request or just thought it would be a cute prank to intentionally serve the person salmon.
I would be very surprised if anyone with the minimum level of maturity and brain power to be a server, would consider it a "cute prank" to deliberately serve an item the customer specifically said they didn't want. That would just be asking to be fired (or, in a case like this, arrested). Not to say it couldn't happen, but it seems so highly unlikely.
It was probably just an unfortunate accident. Sometimes servers, who are human, mess up and bring the wrong thing to the wrong person. It's happened to me. Fortunately I am not allergic to anything.
I do have a couple of family members with nut allergies and they are super vigilant about asking when ordering, and looking at their food in a restaurant before eating. Plus, they always have their medication with them. If you have an allergy that can cause you to stop breathing or drop dead, that's what you have to do. Every single time. Of course, it sucks to be in that situation, but the world is not a nut-free (fish-free, egg-free, etc.) zone.
Not that I am allergic, but is it that important to have peanuts during a flight? Will someone be severely hurt or traumatized if he/she doesn't get to eat peanuts during a flight? Come on, folks.
No. You come on. You are completely missing the point if you don't see that one persons malady does not or should not impact hundreds of total strangers. Another poster was right about there being other things people can be allergic to. Where does it stop? Peanuts are an easy target. I can take them or leave them myself. I like them well enough but really it won't ruin my day if I can't have them but the empowerment is troubling. I had no idea a single passenger could ban nuts for an entire flight. It troubles the civil libertarian in me greatly. Are we going to have passengers demanding to know the vaccination status of the people they fly with one day?
Not that I am allergic, but is it that important to have peanuts during a flight? Will someone be severely hurt or traumatized if he/she doesn't get to eat peanuts during a flight? Come on, folks.
Is it important to have pretzels on the flight? They have gluten in them and people might have a gluten allergy. Is it important to have cheese snacks on the flight? Cheese has lactose in it and some people are lactose intolerant. Is it important to have strawberries on the flight? Lots of people are allergic to them. Is it important to have sugary treats on the flight? Some people are diabetic and can't have sweets? Maybe they should stop serving alcohol because there may be some people who are alcoholics.
So tell me, why just single out one allergen. How important is it to have these items which can cause severe allergic reactions on a flight? Will someone, do you think, be hurt or traumatized by excluding these things?
The last time I was on a flight, no peanuts were handed out. When some passengers requested them instead of pretzels, we were told "Sorry. Peanut allergy on board"
No one put up a fuss. It seemed a little extreme to me to deny an entire plane full of people, instead of just the row the person was sitting in ( or even the couple of rows nearby ) but I'm glad no one made a scene.
It is not just the peanuts in a nearby seat. It is people sitting anywhere on the aircraft that can be effected. The problem is, that the air in an airplane is not like being out in an open field with room for the peanut dust to be disbursed. It is very confined. What happens when everyone starts opening their free bag of peanuts, is it throws a lot of peanut dust into the air which is then circulated around all the passengers in that compartment. That dust will trigger peanut allergy in a highly allergic passenger, which can cause death. It is not one person opening a bag of peanuts, but sometimes a couple hundred at a time that does it, and that makes the air deadly to certain people, and when hit quickly it hits them so fast, that even with a pen in their pocket or purse, they do not have time to use it before they are unconscious. It can be a death sentence for certain people.
At one time I was in the Navy and my duty station was Air Terminal Chief. In other words I ran the air terminal for a large Navy Air Transport Squadron, in charge of passengers, cargo and orderlies (flight attendants) on a rotating 24 on, 24 hour off schedule, with another Air Terminal Chief in charge of the other shift. We were busier than all but the largest civilian air terminals. The food for the passengers, etc., was handled by my department. I also had to once a month take a overseas flight to check on how well the orderlies were doing their job. So I know a little about these things. Even back then, there were certain things like severe allergies that had to be considered.
And anyone that has to have their peanuts no matter what even if it places other people in a death risk position, are some of the most inconsiderate and me, me, me people in the whole world. Personally I do not see how they can live with themselves. How would you feel, if you were one of these hyper allergic people, and some stupid fool was so hung up on themselves that they ate peanuts no matter what it would do to other people and you were sentenced to death when everyone opened up their peanut bags.
Sad story but if I'm allergic that bad where I'd die or become comatose if I ate seafood, I'd probably eat at home or places that don't even serve seafood and ALWAYS carry my epipen.
Agreed.
I served for a number of years in upscale restaurants. I've dealt with so many ignorant, foolish people. People are FOOLISH to not be prepared for a mistake when it comes to their allergies.
Mistakes happen folks. The restaurant world is FAST PACED. How FOOLISH to not be prepared.
Yes restaurants accommodate allergies, but the bottom line is Mistakes happen. Even the best chefs and workers also.. Add to that reality you have many that just don't care all that much as cooking is a very low paid position generally.
And when we're talking anaphylactic shock and potential death don't be unprepared.
And anyone that has to have their peanuts no matter what even if it places other people in a death risk position, are some of the most inconsiderate and me, me, me people in the whole world. Personally I do not see how they can live with themselves. How would you feel, if you were one of these hyper allergic people, and some stupid fool was so hung up on themselves that they ate peanuts no matter what it would do to other people and you were sentenced to death when everyone opened up their peanut bags.
I don't think anyone here is so inconsiderate that they would deliberately expose someone with an extreme peanut allergy to a fatal attack. That's not what anyone is saying at all. The point as I see it is, that if someone is THAT allergic, then not serving peanuts during the flight will not save them. Maybe the person who sat in their seat in the previous flight was eating peanuts and dropped some pieces. Maybe the little kid in the next seat over had a peanut butter sandwich and wiped her fingers on the seat. Maybe someone sitting just behind forgot about the trail mix in his backpack and absent-mindedly started eating some. You just never know, and can not guarantee a peanut-free environment.
For that reason, banning peanuts really does nothing but create a false sense of security in the allergic person. That person needs to be vigilant and prepared for an allergic reaction when s/he is out in public. And as harsh as it may sound, someone whose allergy is so severe that even being on a plane with a trace of residue or a whiff of peanut dust may cause a serious reaction, really shouldn't be flying, for his/her own safety.
It is not just the peanuts in a nearby seat. It is people sitting anywhere on the aircraft that can be effected. The problem is, that the air in an airplane is not like being out in an open field with room for the peanut dust to be disbursed. It is very confined. What happens when everyone starts opening their free bag of peanuts, is it throws a lot of peanut dust into the air which is then circulated around all the passengers in that compartment. That dust will trigger peanut allergy in a highly allergic passenger, which can cause death. It is not one person opening a bag of peanuts, but sometimes a couple hundred at a time that does it, and that makes the air deadly to certain people, and when hit quickly it hits them so fast, that even with a pen in their pocket or purse, they do not have time to use it before they are unconscious. It can be a death sentence for certain people.
At one time I was in the Navy and my duty station was Air Terminal Chief. In other words I ran the air terminal for a large Navy Air Transport Squadron, in charge of passengers, cargo and orderlies (flight attendants) on a rotating 24 on, 24 hour off schedule, with another Air Terminal Chief in charge of the other shift. We were busier than all but the largest civilian air terminals. The food for the passengers, etc., was handled by my department. I also had to once a month take a overseas flight to check on how well the orderlies were doing their job. So I know a little about these things. Even back then, there were certain things like severe allergies that had to be considered.
And anyone that has to have their peanuts no matter what even if it places other people in a death risk position, are some of the most inconsiderate and me, me, me people in the whole world. Personally I do not see how they can live with themselves. How would you feel, if you were one of these hyper allergic people, and some stupid fool was so hung up on themselves that they ate peanuts no matter what it would do to other people and you were sentenced to death when everyone opened up their peanut bags.
I prefer the pretzels anyway. The dust explanation makes sense. I had just never seen that happen on a flight before. I'm just glad that no one made an issue.
Even if the waiter had completely done his job, that still wouldn't have stopped the possibility of exposure to fish. If somebody is this severely allergic, they should stay home or go to restaurants that 100% do not serve seafood (like a burger or pizza place). Arresting the waiter seems a little ridiculous.
True. It's entirely possible that even a non-seafood dish might have some ingredient that has some seafood in it. When you eat out, you have no way of knowing all the ingredients used. If they use a pre-prepared ingredient, the cooks may not even know that one of the ingredients in a can of food has a minor amount of seafood.
Also, the waiter didn't cook the food or prepare the plate. He was handed it by someone in the kitchen. Maybe the waiter didn't realize it was salmon tartare. He was working in the same dim light, at least in part.
Someone with that type of allergy should know that eating out is risky, and should maybe stick with things that are clearly identifiable and don't have a lot of other ingredients, especially sauces. Chicken breast without sauce, a side salad with no meat on it, and the like. And most definitely NEVER a soup. There's no telling what all they add to a soup for "flavor," as they call it.
Not that I am allergic, but is it that important to have peanuts during a flight? Will someone be severely hurt or traumatized if he/she doesn't get to eat peanuts during a flight? Come on, folks.
Im thinking the same thing. I am of the camp of people taking personal responsibility for their allergies...but also lets minimize life and death issues at 30,000 feet. Some people *are* so allergic, smelling it is lethal. There are few things like that on earth. I wouldn't ban customers from bringing their own nuts, but air lines don't need to give out nuts. Pretzels are just fine. No one can die from smelling pretzels. Isn't the whole point of them anyways to induce thirst so you don't end up mega constipated? Pretzels do that fine. And no air line cares about our colon health anymore anyways.
I do kind of feel the same about PB at schools. I have seen a person go into major allergic reaction and need to go to the ER via ambulance from just smelling PB (sitting next to a kid eating a PB&J). With all the alternatives, I really don't mind schools banning it. i don't expect them to, but it doesn't bother me so much. It isn't like an irritation, its life and death.
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