Burger King Employees Allegedly Refused To Read Ingredients List to Blind Woman with Food Allergy
A blind woman in Kent, England, said an employee from her local Burger King refused to read the ingredient list to her, putting her at risk of a severe allergic reaction.
Medina Hall visited the fast food restaurant last Thursday and wanted to order a brownie, but needed to know the ingredient list due to her severe nut allergy.
She told BBC that her food allergy triggers severe asthma attacks.
According to Hall, she was offered a menu, but due to her vision impairment she asked an employee to read the ingredient list to her.
A manager stepped in, however, and quoted “company policy.”
“The manager stepped in and said the server could not read it to me, in case I sued,” she said, according to Kent Online.
“I was shocked – given all the media coverage over the last 18 months about allergies you think they would want to help,” she continued. “I just needed to know if it contained nuts, I didn’t want the whole list even.
“I walked away with nothing in the end.”
A spokesperson from Burger King has since released a public statement apologizing to Hall.
“We would firstly like to apologise to Medina, her experience this week is not reflective of the high standards we would expect within any of our restaurants.
“Everyone should have an enjoyable experience when they visit us and we are looking into this matter further.”
The spokesperson also denied the existence of the company policy allegedly cited by the manager.
“I can also confirm that there is no such policy to refrain from reading allergen information to visually-impaired customers.”
Now the Kent Association for the Blind is chastising Burger King for “impeding” Hall’s quality of life.
“Burger King should have provided their menu and allergy advice in a range of accessible formats, such as Braille, large print and audio,” Eithne Rynne, chief executive of the association, told Kent Online.
“The very least, the staff should have been more helpful by reading out the information to Medina.
“This sort of behaviour is impeding a person’s quality of life and restricting what they can do.”
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