Allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S., according to Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, and moreover, every three minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room. And according to the same data collected by FARE, perhaps the most common food allergy is seafood allergy.
Okay, let's face it, seafood can be damn tasty - but our bodies sometimes pay a heavy price for that. Anaphylactic shock can overtake a picky food lover right in the restaurant, so it's no surprise that employees recommend that customers always warn them about being allergic. Sometimes, however, things turn out to be downright funny, as happened in this story by user @the.audcassidy, who has amassed over 3.3M views on TikTok.
The author of the video is a server at a seafood restaurant and once she had a customer who claimed to be allergic
Image credits: the.audcassidy
However, literally with her second phrase, the woman ordered seafood pasta
Image credits: the.audcassidy
Image credits: the.audcassidy
"I don't know if you could tell this, but there is actually seafood in the seafood pasta"
"This has happened to me. This woman ordered. Okay, she started off, 'By the way, I have a seafood allergy.' I said, 'Noted. Got it.' She said 'I'll take the seafood pasta.' I said 'Ma'am. I don't know if you could tell this, but there is actually seafood in the seafood pasta. There is shrimp and fish. So what are you allergic to?' She said, 'No, I want the seafood pasta.'"
Image credits: Yusuke Kawasaki (not the actual photo)
Image credits: the.audcassidy
"She wasn't allergic to seafood. She doesn't like crab"
"I was like, 'Want me to replace it with chicken?' She said, 'No. I want the seafood pasta.' And I was like, 'Ma'am, there is seafood in the seafood pasta.' She said 'I want it.' So I told my manager, kitchen made it, took it out. I said 'What are we gonna do if she goes into anaphylactic shock?' He said, 'I guess go ahead and call 911 just in case.' She wasn't allergic to seafood. She doesn't like crab."
Image credits: the.audcassidy
Image credits: istolethetv (not the actual photo)
At the same time, warning about being allergic to specific foods is in fact mandatory because it could save lives
So, the author of the video, a woman named Cassidy, works as a server at the Red Lobster, and one day a customer came there, claiming immediately that she was allergic to seafood. Cassidy for sure took note of this information - however, literally with the next remark, the client amazed the OP by ordering... a seafood pasta.
Okay, Cassidy thought that perhaps the client might not have guessed that seafood pasta contains - surprise - seafood, namely fish and shrimp. The server quite delicately hinted at this, recalling that the woman was allergic, but she was absolutely adamant. Well, the client's desire is the law, but Cassidy still consulted with the manager over what they should do if the woman got anaphylactic shock while sitting at the table.
The manager was also not happy with the situation, but simply advised calling 911 just in case. However, as Cassidy continues, emergency assistance was not needed - after all, the customer, as it turned out later, after she finished the pasta she ordered and literally licked the plate, wasn't allergic to seafood at all. She just didn't like crab...
However, the happy ending to this story does not mean that the problem of food allergy has disappeared. On the contrary, studies published in 2018 and 2019 estimate 32 million Americans of all ages who have convincing symptoms of allergy to specific foods. And seafood is in the top ten here, with shellfish in first place with 8.2M Americans allergic and finfish standing sixth with around 2.6M people as well. So the measures taken just in case by the employees of the restaurant where Cassidy works are fully justified.
"It is vital that you understand your medical needs first," says Sloane Miller, a New York-based licensed master social worker, her specialist in food allergy management, in an interview to Food Allergy Canada. "So, if you are unclear about any aspect of your medical diagnosis, talk with your doctors about any lingering questions, even the more nuanced ones like casual and intimate contact. Once you have clarity around your medical needs, communicate them clearly to those around you and ask for their emotional support as you navigate your world safely."
In this situation, to be honest, you start looking differently, for example, at this story about a teen who tried to wean her citrus-allergic dad from stealing her food by adding lemon everywhere. After all, warning about the presence of an allergen in food can definitely save someone's life. However, commenters on the original video gave many examples of customers talking about their allergies only once the order was on the table. Well, at least it was not eaten... Anyway, if you also have your own story about food allergies, please feel free to share it in the comments.
People in the comments cracked up at the story and gave their own examples of weird customers' orders connected with their food allergies
