Food allergies can make dining outside of the home a tricky event. Whether the concern is cross-contamination of cooking surfaces, food preparation that might see allergens come in contact with multiple non-allergens, or the use of cleaning chemicals that provoke allergic reactions, it can be a minefield.
Even letting employees know that a customer has an allergy can be a risky situation, as not every worker in the kitchen preparing the order may be made aware.
One customer of Chick-fil-A says she has been served Diet Coke on multiple occasions, despite being allergic to aspartame, the artificial sweetener used in the beverage. In a video posted to TikTok, Grace (@saygracee23) says she has specifically asked for regular Coke, as it is not sweetened with aspartame.
“Chick-fil-A, I need you to count your days,” she says in the video. “For real, count your days. The past three times I’ve ordered Chick-fil-A, they have given me Diet Coke when I asked for regular, which for most people is fine. However, I am allergic to aspartame. I will take the slightest sip of aspartame and 50 shades of f*cked up, for real.”
She says it happened across two Chick-fil-A locations in her city, which surprised her.
“The first time it happened I was like, ‘OK, that’s fine, I’ll dump it, it’s fine, everything’s OK,’” she says in the video. “The second time it happened I was like, ‘Wow, what are the odds that this happens twice? Chick-fil-A never messes up my order ever.’ The third time it happened, today, I went to a different Chick-fil-A because I was in a different part of town.”
Grace thought that because she ordered at a different location, she was safe from the mix-up.
“I was like, ‘At least I know that this time I’m not going to get Diet Coke in my mouth,’” she recalls thinking. “I should have tasted it before doing this, but I was taking a pill, and I put the pill in my mouth, and then I took the biggest slurp of Diet Coke ever and I said, ‘Oh my God, this is aspartame.’”
Grace says that while it is possible these locations were simply out of regular Coke, making the substitution without asking the customer could present health and safety concerns if they are allergic, as she is, diabetic, or otherwise affected by beverages that are artificially sweetened.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Grace and Chick-fil-A via email regarding the video.
Several viewers shared that they have the same kind of allergy as the poster, and have frustratingly experienced having their drink swapped without being told anything by restaurant employees, even when it came to other allergies.
“Someone who understands!” one commenter wrote. “I also have the allergy, no one believes me!”
“And I’m a diabetic and I always get regular instead of diet, I’m like dude please if I drink regular I will literally die of a diabetic coma,” another commenter wrote.
“I’m allergic to tomatoes, and a waitress told me to just take it off,” a commenter wrote.” Like excuse me, no.”
@saygracee23 @chicfila love u mean it #aspartameallergyproblems #aspartameintolerance ♬ original sound – Say Grace
Some also recommended letting staff know verbally when she places the order that she has such an allergy, as it may give employees additional incentive to not serve her Diet Coke.
“Make sure it didn’t accidentally get clicked once in the app, because I did it once with regular Coke and still accidentally get sometimes when I reorder,” one commenter wrote.
“Just let them know it’s an allergy they will mark it on the order ticket so that way they will double check!” another commenter wrote.
“I would just make sure to tell them you are allergic and can not have diet coke,” a commenter wrote. “Should you have to? No. But just incase!”
