On January 5, 2018, a 6-episode docuseries was released on Netflix by the name of Rotten. This Netflix-original docuseries looks deeper into the food industry as it faces new challenges throughout the years.

“The Peanut Problem” is licensed under CC BY 4.0.

The second episode of this revealing docuseries is titled “The Peanut Problem.” This episode focuses on the rise of food allergies in children and how it is impacting people and businesses, especially within the peanut industry. The increase of children with food allergies has hade it more difficult for peanut farms to continue to be successful; because food allergies are increasing at this rate, these farmers can only be concerned that it will continue to grow. In response to the rise of these allergies, the farmers cannot present themselves in any certain way to save themselves, because they are not the reason these allergies are becoming more common. In the episode, the Cox family, peanut farmers in Georgia, said all they can do is donate to science to hope to find more insight into these allergies.

Groups that have had issues regarding these food allergies are restaurants. Some restaurants that have had pretty serious allergy issues and were mentioned in the docuseries are Jaipur Spice and Indian Garden, both located in Yorkshire, England, and both owned by the same man: Mohammed Zaman. Zaman was jailed on a charge of manslaughter by gross negligence after Paul Wilson died from an allergy attack following eating his food at Indian Garden, just a few short weeks after a girl suffered a severe attack at Jaipur Spice. Zaman, in an attempt to save money, replaced the almond powder that is typical in Indian dishes with a cheaper alternative: peanut powder. There was enough peanut powder in the dish that just a small lick of the sauce would be fatal to anyone with a severe peanut allergy. Zaman did not give proper training to his staff, and even when Wilson requested nut free food, his food was full of peanuts.

However, some restaurants understand the seriousness of the allergy situation. One example of a restaurant that was shown in the episode presenting an understanding of allergies is the Blue Dragon, right here in Boston. They have proved time and time again to their customers that they put serious time and thought into their meals and they provide transparency as far as the ingredients in each meal. The Blue Dragon and chef, Ming Tsai, have found success in this approach through the customers that constantly return to enjoy their allergy-friendly food. Tsai has a book that includes each recipe they create and it clearly states which of the most common allergens are in the recipe, whether its nuts, dairy, eggs, and so on. He has trained his staff to be aware of allergies and how to communicate with the customer so that the customer feels safe ordering the food without any complications.

The approach that Tsai takes to food allergies is important with the amount of children with allergies today. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatrician in Chicago, has dedicated much of her life to the study of food allergies, and stated in the episode that around 6 million children in the United States today have food allergies. With this statistic, and the number still rising, it is important for restaurants to follow Ming Tsai and the Blue Dragons lead, and follow one of the Arthur Page Principles of Public Relations: tell the truth.

 

For more information about “The Peanut Problem,” watch the second episode of Rotten on Netflix.