Nut-Proof Your Workplace
The holidays mean gift baskets coming through your office doors, potentially carrying killer food allergens. An estimated 1.8 million Americans have an allergy to tree nuts and allergic reactions to tree nuts are among the leading causes of fatal or near-fatal reactions to food.
Tips for an allergy-safe workplace:
- Post signs on your office doors about any food allergies within your company. If you don’t keep the signs posted all year, be sure they are up during the holiday season when gift baskets are abundant.
- Remind employees of any food allergies in the building. It is easy to forget over the years, and no one wants that banana bread with walnuts to become deadly to a co-worker.
- Have an employee meeting and be sure to inform all employees that potential allergies can be found in the strangest places, like salad dressings, sauces, breading, etc.
- Know what to do if an allergic reaction occurs. All employees should know what to do or who to call if one of their co-workers has an allergic reaction.
Other common food allergies are milk, eggs, peanut, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy.
Visit www.foodallergy.org to learn more about these allergies.
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