Family refused Pizza Express entry over boy's 'safe foods'

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Francis has lived with food allergies his whole life

Alice Cunningham

Suffolk

8 hours ago

A mother says her son who has severe food allergies blamed himself when the family was refused entry at a restaurant because he had his own food with him.

Hazel, 41, from Halesworth, Suffolk, visited Pizza Express at the South Mimms M25 services in Hertfordshire with her son Francis, nine, and the rest of their family on Friday.

Due to his allergies, they always take his own food to restaurants, but Pizza Express staff said they could not allow them in as it meant they could not control the allergens in the restaurant and Francis felt it was all his fault.

Pizza Express has apologised. It said inclusivity was at its "core" and it was "very disappointed to learn of this isolated incident".

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The family always packs food for Francis to ensure his safety

Hazel said Francis was severely allergic to cow's milk, coconut, lentils and nuts as well as other things, and they take their own cutlery, pans and utensils to keep him safe when they are away from home.

Hazel, her husband Dominic, 40, and their children had been returning from a holiday in Devon when they stopped at the services.

"It was really sad for us," she said of the moment staff said they could not take in their own food and enjoy a family meal.

"I just felt like there was no empathy from the staff at all, or they didn't want to find out any further or think of a way that they could work around anything."

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Hazel said she was left angry over how her son was treated

Restaurants must provide accurate information to customers about 14 widespread allergens, external and staff must receive training.

But there is no legal requirement for restaurants to allow people to take in their own food if they have severe allergies.

Pizza Express staff had told Hazel and Dominic that by taking in their own food, they could not control the allergens on the premises, but Hazel said that reasoning was flawed as the restaurant was likely to already have the top 14 allergens inside.

According to Natasha's Foundation, it is estimated two million people in the UK live with a diagnosed food allergy.

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Pizza Express said "inclusivity is at the core of all we do"

The family complained to Pizza Express, which told them the situation did "not reflect either the intent of our policy or the experience" it aimed to provide to customers.

They were also offered the chance to dine at a local Pizza Express and staff would cater for Francis's allergies, but Hazel said she felt the company had failed to understand why they had to take his own food.

"We pride ourselves on ensuring our restaurants are welcoming to everyone, which means we have an existing policy allowing customers with specific allergies to bring their own food into our premises, subject to food safety controls, and we recognise this policy was not implemented correctly on this occasion," Pizza Express told the BBC.

"We have already been in touch directly with the customer and their family to apologise for their experience."

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