Cafe humiliation

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Took my DD (hardworking mum to my 2 DGC) for lunch in a very nice local cafe (pink tea pots, fresh roses on the tables) as a treat.
Lunch menu looked nice. We ordered and I asked if I could just check if my salad could be gluten free. At this the waitress asked if I was choosing or actually coeliac. I am in fact, coeliac and she said then informed me that I would need to sign something first. Honestly, I thought it was a joke but she came back with a large clipboard and an A4 sheet of paper and pen and asked me to have it signed by the time she returned; she was not going to take the order until this was done.
I sat staring at the paperwork wondering of this was for real. The paperwork was a disclaimer that if the cafe should inadvertantly slip me anything gluten laden then they would keep this piece of paper with my "consent" at the risks therein.
Several ladies having tea and lunches were staring at me and DD when the waitress came back; she was astonished that I hadn't signed their form yet. I just wanted to have a nice salad lunch with my daughter to treat her without having some jobsworth make me out to be some sort of liability to them. DD said it had sucked the good vibe right out and she was absolutely right.
So the waitress then asked why I wouldn't sign. I had to explain (calmly but upset) that I had hoped for kinder and far more inclusive customer service instead of singling me out and making me "other" whilst their diners looked on wondering why I was having to sign their paperwork before anyone was willing to serve us. She said, no, it's not like that - but I had to explain again that their paperwork was not to caring for the customer it was them covering their back against me if they were to make a mistake. Although I previously liked the cafe very much, DD and I left.
I'm a woman of the world and a solo traveller too. I have a happy go lucky nature but today...I really felt humiliated. AIBU?

I'm sure you can't consent to be affected and absolve them of damage?

what a fuss to make. I have to do this all the time with my nut allergy. Most restaurants do this now. You blew it all out of proportion and drew attention to yourself, should’ve just signed it.

Yes but it is a sliding scale with anaphylactic reactions the worst possible situation.

Were ladies at their own tables really staring at you?

Coeliac disease doesn’t cause anaphylaxis - it is an autoimmune disease not an allergy

It's getting ridiculous but I understand where they are coming from. Cross contamination is very easily done and the cafe can loose a lot of they were to get sued. They probably have a small kitchen so can't have a separate areas for gluten free, dairy free or but free ect. We always make sure the person understands that we can not guarantee that things are free from something if we use it in the kitchen. We always say 'May contain' as we can't guarantee it.

They can't guarantee that any food in their cafe hasn't been contaminated however careful they are. I have a friend who's so sensitive to gluten she can't even go into a cafe because there are particles of gluten in the air.

You kind of ruined your own day.

It's better than Zizi where they hand you a huge book which has endless charts listing all the allergens in each meal. It's like doing an exam.

Food businesses have a legal responsibility to provide regulated allergen information, ensure that the food is safe, and make sure they protect people with coeliac disease, including preventing cross-contamination

I'm not sure this is entirely true. You are correct that food businesses must provide allergen information, but they are not legally obliged to protect people with allergies, as long as they (the business) have provided information allergen information and have advised the customer that there may be a risk of cross-contamination. If there is a risk of cross-contamination, the business cannot claim that food is gluten (or other allergen) free, only that the product is made with gluten-free products. Provided all information has been correctly communicated to the customer, it is then up to the customer to decide if they are happy to eat at the cafe.

Perhaps the signing of a waiver is just so that the customer can't subsequently say that they weren't provided with allergen information. It might not hold legally but it does seem quite a sensible thing to do to help both the customer and cafe to ensure that information is correctly communicated.

Its impossible to guarantee, human error can result in someone being charged with manslaughter.

Who wants to deal with that?

So either take the risk as a diner, or dont dine out.

Correct.

If push came to shove, a barrister would blow that waiver right out of the water, not least because they could be accused of realizing the risk they're putting the diners under yet failing to make sure that risk is mitigated in the food prep.

I didn’t say it did.

It’s not up to you to decide how the OP was feeling.

Why are you talking about it in relation to coeliac disease then?

I went to one restaurant that said if your allergies are life threatening then don’t eat here/we can’t cater. Just a shut down for any requests!

as a mum of allergy children I’m seeing this a lot. Costa have recently been taken to court after a girl died from a dairy hot chocolate and cafes are freaking out wanting to avoid this. I’d rather they took more care and concern and allergy training rather than a pass the buck attitude where it’s on the customer to say they accept the risk that they cafe may slip up. And yes I understand with the best care mistakes happen but unfortunately I’m also seeing it as a get out of jail free for the cafe to be slap dash

It's impossible to have an allergen free kitchen. Free from products are made in production areas totally free from the allergen the product is free from, that's physically impossible in a cafe situation. It was clumsy for sure but after that girl died in Costa this will be more usual I expect

I have been refused service in a cafe, as I have a shellfish allergy. The only savoury food served was toasties, but apparently it was a blanket policy for any allergies.

Lots of others are talking about allergies on the thread, it’s relevant to a waiver or refusal to be served and it’s actually an even more serious matter than GF.

Yep - this!

This is very normal with allergies. I have an allergy and so does my dd and I literally have to do this every place I eat. It’s really not a big deal

Whaat???
OP was being asked to sign away her right to those protections!

If they can’t cater properly for allergies / intolerances they shouldn’t be open. Customers shouldn’t be expected to sign waivers in case of cross contamination.

Read the thread hun

You felt ‘humiliated’ at being asked to sign a form?! No wonder young people can’t cope with the world when they are learning from parents like this. Melodramatic much?

nice theory. In reality it would be very troublesome from economical point of view and practically impossible from the point of view of physics.