The employee made a big mistake. However, the mother with a child that sensitive to nuts should have known better.
This is a tragic accident, pure and simple, UNLESS the employee knew the truth and lied.
The child had to eat something, and the ingredients on the label and the store clerk assured her that the food did not contain tree nuts.
This sort of food allergy--especially peanuts!--has become a HUGE health crisis reaching epidemic proportions.
Nobody knows exactly what's causing it.
The labeling of food is a good thing, but it must be dependable.
My wife’s granddaughter has a severe peanut allergy. Before they buy anything, they check out the store and product. A quick check of Publix shows:
“Our bakeries use a variety of wholesome ingredients including eggs, wheat and other dry mixes that will become airborne during the production times. They also are using peanuts and tree nuts. Our associates are trained on
sanitation procedures for their areas. Even with proper sanitation in place there is the possibility of small amounts of dairy and egg powder, nut residue to transfer onto a food surface. One example includes opening bags
of dry mix. The ingredient dust from these mixes can disperse and land on food contact surfaces. Another example is the bread slicers being used to slice breads with and without nuts, etc.”
This automatically puts Publix backer “off-limits”.
Not to sound unsympathetic, but I agree. I have a nephew with that same allergy, and giving him a store bought cookie is something that none of us would ever do. Why chance it?
My thoughts exactly. The store should not have made that mistake, but the mother should not have bet her child’s life on the knowledge of someone drawing close to minimum wage.