Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Alison Pickering
Topics: US News, Food and Drink, Health, Real Life, True Life
Rhiannon Ingle
Topics: US News, Food and Drink, Health, Real Life, True Life
A woman tragically died on a first date after eating a meal she'd had before without realising the restaurant made changes to the dish.
Texas college student Alison Pickering was just days away from graduating from Tarleton State University when she went to grab some food with a date, opting for a place she knew had food she could eat despite her allergies.
Alison, who had a very severe peanut allergy, opted for a dish she'd previously enjoyed at the restaurant, but wasn't told it the recipe had changed, leading to a fatal allergic reaction.
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At the restaurant she ordered mahi-mahi, a fish dish, but wasn't aware that since the last time she'd been there, peanut sauce had been added to the recipe.
The parents of the late 23-year-old are now demanding for a change in the food industry to ensure no one else has to suffer the fate of their beloved daughter.
"She would repeatedly go to the same restaurants and order the same dishes, you know. And that was a common thing," Alison's father, Grover told CBS News Texas.
"She took a few bites, realised something was wrong," he continued.
After feeling the warning signs of the reaction after eating the peanut sauce, Alison administered her EpiPen walked over to an ambulance outside where she spoke to the medics.
"She did her Epipen. The ambulance came. She actually walked to the ambulance talking to them, but somewhere along the way things went downhill," Grover said, adding what followed was 'tragic and it doesn't need to happen to anyone else'.
During the ordeal, Alison fell unconscious and tragically never woke up with her obituary stating she died from a 'severe anaphylactic shock from ingesting peanuts that were not disclosed on the restaurant menu'.
A year and a half after their daughter's untimely death, the Pickerings are now working to prevent more people from dying due to hidden allergens at restaurants.
"We would love to see more done to make wait staff and patrons aware," Alison's mother Joy told the outlet.
Part of the changes made includes Texas restaurants taking active efforts to work on communication between all staff members involving changes to recipes, especially when it comes to allergens.
"To determine what guidelines could be put in place to help restaurants have better communication to their customers as far as ingredients, much like labels on grocery store items you buy," Grover explained.
"I know we’re going to save lives by doing this," Joy added.