Egg served to anaphylactic child at school camp

Three food businesses were investigated as a result of this incident. The school that had arranged the camp, a third party that organised the camp (organiser) and had a role in some of the day-to-day activities in the camp and the final business was the campsite itself that was responsible for supplying food to the student.

Officers found that the child’s parent had advised the school and the campsite (in writing and via telephone) that her son is anaphylactic and offered to cater meals. She is assured there is no need to cater as there are systems in place to control this food safety risk.

During camp the student was sent to a ‘special meals counter’ to collect lunch. He’s asked what he is allergic to and states “nuts; egg; dairy”. Staff hears “nuts” and states “you can eat all the food at the other counter”. The student takes a mouthful but spits it out when told by his mates that there is egg in it. His anaphylaxis management plan is activated.

• school: Agreed to supply the child with an egg free meal. Organised the camp but did not take all reasonable steps to ensure the correct meal was supplied: e.g. Special diets teacher was not present at meal service
• organiser: Agreed to supply the child with an egg free meal. Coordinated the camp but did not take all reasonable steps to ensure the correct meal was supplied: e.g. Sent students with special diet needs into the dining room even though the special diets teacher was not present
• campsite: Agreed to supply the child with an egg free meal. Served meals but did not take all reasonable steps to ensure the correct meal was supplied; e.g. Did not wait for the special diets teacher to arrive before serving meals; did not use the checklist prepared to identify student.

All three businesses were found to have breached Section 19 of the Food Act:

School failed to ensure food demanded was supplied. They did not cross check the special diets list to ensure it was accurate. The campsite could not identify students without school assistance. Assistance was not provided. At the very least teachers should have checked food supplied to three anaphylactic children. A formal warning was issued to the school.

Organiser failed to ensure food demanded was supplied. They did not cross check the special diets list to ensure it was accurate. The campsite could not identify students without school assistance. At the very least the camp leader should have ensured teachers had identified the three anaphylactic children. They could have kept children outside dining room until special diets teacher was present. A formal warning was issued to the organiser.

Campsite failed to ensure food demanded was supplied. The special diets checklist was inaccurate. They did not use the checklist and did not ask students their names. The campsite could not identify students without school assistance. At the very least campsite should have ensured teachers had identified the three anaphylactic children. They could have kept children waiting in the dining room until a teacher was present. The campsite received a penalty notice for failing to supply food of the nature demanded, and was added to the NSW Food Authority Name & Shame list.

Food service businesses have a responsibility to keep their customers safe by providing accurate information on the allergen status of products, and ensuring best practice food preparation and storage procedures to avoid cross contamination.

This incident reinforces the potential dangers associated with catering for those with allergies and the need for adequate understanding of the associated risks. Food allergies are very serious and can have life-threatening implications.

Equally important is the corresponding implementation of risk-based management controls by the business to prevent a serious anaphylactic reaction.

What should businesses do?

• don’t let consumer request for allergen free food become lost in a complex supply chain
• know what your responsibilities regarding allergen management are and meet them
• check for weak links in the system and fix them before they become a life-threatening issue.