BANGKOK — MK Restaurants Group, the company that owns the famous sukiyaki restaurant chain with multiple branches across Thailand, issued a statement on June 20, regarding a customer’s allergic reaction to a fish dish in their restaurant, which resulted in hospital admission.
“Regarding the customer’s food allergy incident, the company is deeply sorry for this occurrence. If we had been informed about the food allergy before dining, the company could have thoroughly checked the ingredients in all menu items and provided information to the customer before ordering.
The company has not been negligent and has been monitoring the customer’s condition from the time of dining at the restaurant to the hospital. We visited the customer with a flower basket and provided meals for the guardians attending to the patient. We have been fully taking care of the customer since the incident occurred. The restaurant has contacted the customer to assist with all medical expenses,” it said.
This viral case began when a Facebook user posted an image and message in the group “We Are Consumers,” which has over 780,000 members, on June 16. The post was titled “A cautionary tale for people allergic to fish.”
The post details that he ordered ingredients for a sukiyaki meal for his family, intentionally avoiding fish as his young son is allergic. Among the items ordered were crab balls and seasoned pork, which he didn’t expect to contain fish.
A few moments after his son started eating, the boy began coughing severely and vomiting. His voice started to fade. He rushed his son to the nearest private hospital, where doctors were able to treat him in time. The son was admitted to the ICU and given nebulizer treatments every 6 hours. The father noted that if they had arrived at the hospital 2-3 minutes later, his son might not have been able to breathe on his own.
After having paid tens of thousands of baht in medical fees and his son was safe, he went back to advise the restaurant. He suggested they should add notes to their menu indicating which items contain fish and shrimp for customer safety.
Meanwhile, MK Restaurants Group stated that it will improve its measures to better care for customers and add preventive measures for customer food allergies.
“We have categorized major food allergen groups and included this information in all menu items, along with recommendations in the menu. If a customer is allergic to any food, they can inform the staff to check the ingredients in the items they wish to order. However, due to this incident, the company intends to improve our measures to better care for our customers in the future.”
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