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A woman is calling out a Sandestin, Florida, restaurant after claiming it misrepresented the allergen content of a birthday dessert . The woman, who has a nut allergy, says the move nearly killed her.
In a video with over 135,000 views, Tiktok user Kaia (@kaiam9) explains how a trip to the Ovide Restaurant at the Hotel Effie in Miramar Beach, Florida, ended in her heading to the hospital.
According to Kaia, she went to the restaurant for a friend’s birthday. While she describes the experience as “horrible,” with long wait times, small portions, and food that had to be sent back, she explains that the group was “not going to complain about it,” as they were simply trying to make the most of the situation.
Finally, at the end of the meal, she says the server brought her a “birthday dessert.”
“We don’t even want that right now,” Kaia explains. “We just want to get out of here.”
Still, trying to keep everyone’s spirits up, the group dug in. Kaia says she clarified with the server that there were no nuts in the dessert, as she has a “severe nut allergy.”
“’Absolutely not,’ she recalls the server saying. ‘We don’t even have nuts in our kitchen.'”
Comforted by this answer, Kaia took a bite. She says she immediately realized something was wrong.
What happened next?
“The second bite I take, something is crunchy there. Like, I know what a nut looks like. I’ve had the allergy for 24 years, and this is a nut, okay?”
Kaia says she realized she was about to go into anaphylaxis. At that very moment, she says the server returned and clarified that “there might be nuts” in the dessert.
“I was like, ‘You don’t say. I just ate one,'” Kaia claims. “She says, ‘Let me see.’ I showed her, and she says, ‘I don’t think that’s crazy.'”
“I said, ‘OK, because my throat is closing up right now,'” the Tiktoker recalls saying.
Knowing she couldn’t afford to go to the hospital and without an epipen, Kaia says she took a Benadryl. Still, she felt the situation worsening. However, she claims the only employee who showed any concern for her situation was the valet, whom she still had to pay.
Fortunately, on the way to the hospital, Kaia says her Benadryl started to take effect, and she started to feel better. As a result, she says she ultimately decided not to go to the hospital. Instead, she returned to the restaurant to pick up her friends.
“They still had to pay the bill,” she reveals. “They took 15% off my salad, though—they don’t want to break the bank on that!”
Enquanto Kaia parece ter tentado buscar um reembolso por e -mail, ela diz que seus pedidos de reembolso foram negados.
“Se você quiser ter uma experiência de quase morte, tenho uma ótima recomendação para você”, Kaia brinca no fechamento.
O restaurante responde
Depois que o vídeo de Kaia começou a pegar tração, os usuários começaram a inundar o restaurante Perfil do Google com críticas negativas. Muitos estavam claramente em resposta à história de Kaia. Pelo menos uma revisão recente parecia ser uma pessoa contando sua própria história sobre sua alergia ser ignorada. Alguns referenciaram os detalhes específicos da experiência de Kaia, levando a várias respostas do restaurante.
“Concordamos sinceramente que essa situação era inaceitável”, diz uma resposta. “Pessoalmente, contatamos a KAIA, compartilhamos nosso pedido de desculpas e garantimos que um reembolso tenha sido processado. Em resposta, estamos revisando todos os procedimentos de comunicação de alergias e recolhendo nossa equipe para garantir a conformidade estrita de segurança alimentar. Agradecemos sua experiência e a preocupação – ele nos leva a fazer melhor, e estamos comprometidos em fazer isso.”
Kaia postou mais tarde um vídeo de acompanhamento Esclarecendo que, embora ela agora perceba que poderia ter lidado melhor com a situação com um epipen, ela diz que ainda não está satisfeita com a maneira como o restaurante lidou com a situação. Ela diz que eles lhe enviaram um e -mail dizendo que iriam melhorar o manuseio de alérgenos há duas semanas, apenas para que outra revisão apareça depois que alegou que a alergia de outro cliente foi mal gerenciada.
“Então, obviamente você não fez essas mudanças”, afirma. Mais tarde, ela acrescenta: “Eu não sei se é preciso que alguém tenha que morrer para que eles façam a diferença no que estão fazendo e entender o quão sério a situação é. Não tenho certeza”.
Quais são as regras de alérgenos que os restaurantes são necessários para seguir?
Primeiro, deve -se notar que Kaia tem uma sorte incrivelmente sortuda por sua questão poder ser resolvida apenas por Benadryl. Em geral, anti -histamínicos como a difenidramina (Benadryl) são não é suficiente Para prevenir ou interromper a anafilaxia. E qualquer pessoa em risco de entrar em anafilaxia deve estar carregando um autoinjetor de epinefrina, como um epipen, o tempo todo.
Segundo, embora os detalhes sejam um pouco complicados, parece que o restaurante pode ter violado a lei da Flórida por não declarar com precisão o conteúdo de alérgenos de sua comida.
Florida International University professor and hospitality law expert Dr. Paul Moore explained to NBC 6 South Florida that when a customer with allergies orders food, the legal liability initially lies with them, as the restaurant has no way of knowing about their allergy.
However, once a customer informs the restaurant of their allergy, the responsibility shifts to the restaurant staff, who must clearly communicate whether accommodations can be made for their allergy and take reasonable steps to ensure the customer’s safety.
Since it appears the restaurant did not do this, it appears they violated the law.
Commentators offer their thoughts
In the comments section, users shared their thoughts on Kaia’s experience, as well as listing potential next steps she could take.
“The fact that she came back later to say ‘maybe have dishes’ tells me she went to ask someone after she put him down,” one commenter wrote. “Why on earth wouldn’t she say, ‘I’m not sure: let me check really quick’ if she had an inkling of a question?! I live in Destin and would have happily tried to help him find a lawyer.”
“Put your health first,” offered another. “You should have made them call for an ambulance and use the epi pen. Then have them fill out an incident report and have your insurance reimburse you. (You can still do that last part.) I know healthcare and hospitals are expensive, but your life is worth more. I’m glad you’re okay, now that’s scary, how indifferent the waitress was.”
“Please, please, PPE and hospital, no matter what,” echoed a third. “Past reaction does not predict future reaction.”
Brobible reached out to Ovide via Instagram Direct Message and Hotel Effie via the website contact form. Brobible also reached out to Kaia via TikTok Direct Message and Comment.
