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Five of the largest chain restaurants and supermarkets have given false or misleading information about potentially fatal allergens to customers.
Undercover journalists working for the BBC visited many sites where they presented themselves as allergic customers. They said they received incorrect advice at the Pizza Hut, Nando's and Frankie and Benny's branches, as well as at the coffee shops, Starbucks and Costa.
The investigation was launched as a result of recent comments from a coroner who said he would write to the government about the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, victim of an anaphylactic reaction after having eaten a sandwich of Ready to eat that had no allergenic opinion on its packaging.
The latest revelations, which will be broadcast in an edition of the BBC's Watchdog Live program, have sparked criticism from Rasel Shahid, whose sister, Shahida, died in 2015 after serving a buttermilk chicken burger, while She had told the restaurant staff that she had a dairy. allergy.
"Shahida's death was totally preventable … If buttermilk was labeled correctly and correctly on the menu, Shahida would still be there today, so it's just as effective to have proper labeling", he told the program.
The undercover reporters visited five branches of six restaurant chains and found that only Pizza Express provided clear and accurate information on allergens on every occasion.
Frankie & Benny's
In an agency, a reporter was wrongly informed that a dish did not contain celery. At another time, a reporter was asked to accept the terms and conditions stating that the restaurant could never guarantee that a dish was totally free of allergens, with the exception of gluten. The staff member told the BBC reporter that the form "saved our backs".
His parent company said he was "deeply concerned" by the BBC report. "We fully understand the need for detailed food information and take our allergen obligations very seriously."
Costa Coffee
In one branch, the BBC reporter was wrongly told that the thin pie did not contain milk, even though a staff member had consulted the store's allergy book.
The firm said: "On this occasion, the team member did not follow the correct procedure and provided the wrong information. This is clearly unacceptable and we have reissued the guidelines and best practices in all stores. "
Pizza Hut
The book on allergies was incomprehensible to the reporter and a staff member who was trying to determine whether two dishes contained mustard or not. Each was listed as containing the ingredient online.
A spokesman for Pizza Hut Restaurants said, "In this case, the information provided in the book was correct. But we took comments into account and added QR codes to our menu cards this week, which refer to all our nutrition information. "
Nando & # 39; s
A reporter was wrongly taught that a hamburger did not contain mustard before the information was corrected.
The company said its executives usually deal personally with customers with allergies. "We are sorry that on this occasion this process was not followed to perfection. As a priority, we have since reminded all our employees of the processes in place and their importance. "
Starbucks
A staff member first stated that a lemon bread cake containing almonds in the ingredients did not contain nuts – before reporting that there was still a risk of contamination of the nuts .
Starbucks said safety was its highest priority. "In this case, we failed in this commitment and did not meet our own high standards. We have solved this problem with our store team and have communicated with all of our stores in the UK to reinforce our standards and expectations. "
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