Maryland
Food Allergy Training

very informative!

N/A

This training was a good refresher and easy to navigate. It was easy to comprehend and has some interactive modules to keep you engaged.

Very clear and easy to learn content

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This study is good to keep Americans safe

Very well informative

DISCLAIMER *** I realize this is a newer requirement so please know I respect the work that has been put in and I genuinely hope my comments help to improve – I am writing this from the perspective of a restaurant server (upscale/fine-dining) in a major city.***

The first module is obviously important for getting the message across that allergies are not a joke. However, The following quiz questions about 200,000 vs 1 million people in america having allergies, or how many emergency visits or fatalities or whatever it was, distracted from the end goal.

The questions following the first module are what set the tone for the rest of the training. As a result, I found myself focusing on numerical data like the minimum 20 seconds required for proper handwashing and other not irrelevant but not the most important details throughout the rest of the training just to make sure I didn’t get any questions wrong for the final exam. (Also, side note, we all have to take food handlers training anyway so I feel like proper handwashing procedure, while important, doesn’t need to be a main highlight.)

I would suggest either eliminating or simplifying the data focused quiz from the first module, and in general, making ALL the questions more tailored to food handlers – for example instead of needing to know how many allergic reactions end in emergency room visits each year, a more relevant question for food handlers might be “the ‘Big 9’ allergens account for a. 50% b. 75% c. 90% of allergic reactions.

I also think more attention could be paid to variations within specific allergies finfish vs. shellfish and variances within shellfish allergies such as bipeds or crustaceans and where do squid and octopus fall. Additionally, I would argue that a section on common ingredients with less common allergies, i.e. Nightshade or Allium/Garlic, would be far more useful than highlighting potentially hidden gluten or whey or lecethin in processed foods. People with genuine allergies will already be wary of this. Nightshade allergy is at least worth mentioning, especially since it tends to present as “I’m allergic to spicy food,” which is just immediately written off. However it can also be I’m allergic to tomatoes or I’m allergic to bell peppers and most people have never heard of such a thing so, similarly to Allium (garlic/onion) or Mushrooms, they just dismiss it as the guest just being funny or wanting attention, which poses an even greater risk to those people with a genuine allergy.

As a hospitality professional, the part that stood out most to me was in the KCU video when they mention that some people are embarrassed of their allergies/ want to be treated like everyone else. I have definitely experienced this and I would love more in depth training on how to handle such situations.

Lastly, it would be nice to know the difference between state and federal requirements, if any, and since this is still such a new/emerging concern, probably don’t even exist yet.

Regarding ux – the AI narration was unbearable and needed closed captioning just to follow along. The fact that I had to manually select closed captioning for each module, plus the inability to skip back/forwards with only the option being to replay the entire module made this considerably more time consuming than it needed to be.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. If you found my feedback useful, please feel free to send a check payable to Lauren Fasiang via the contact info provided, or via venmo @Lauren-Fasiang. And if you found this feedback horrendous, my name is actually Hamid, I can be reached at hbenna@somoshg.com which you can also add to whatever email list you see fit.

i learn so much in this course

Very informative. Glad I took the course