I'm sharing a prior post that was closed but needs to be re-opened.  Starbucks needs to recognize the needs of people with food allergies...

The National Institutes of Health documents that there is an “increasing prevalence of food allergy and food-induced anaphylaxis.” Anaphylaxis?

That’s when someone’s throat swells up and they cannot breathe.

According to the NIH and the CDC, there are 30,000 anaphylactic reactions and 150 food allergy deaths in the US each year. Six foods, including milk, are responsible for 90% of those food allergy reactions. (CDC) The other 10% of those reactions are caused by several other foods, including soy. While food allergies occur in only 6-8% of all children and 2% of all adults, in the US, those statistics mean that you know or love someone with a food allergy.

But Starbucks seems to be ignoring this news. Instead, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has gone on TV to tell business leaders to stop giving money to politicians until they balance the budget. What if Howard Schultz stops worrying about Congress and starts worrying about his own “house.” Schultz’ employees are making people with allergies sick and potentially killing them by not cleaning the steaming equipment between soy and cow’s milk drinks.

Starbucks advertises alternatives to cow’s milk, such as soy, for those who are milk sensitive or allergic. And if you are allergic to soy, as my daughter and I are, you can just avoid the soy milk drinks. Right?

No.

Starbucks doesn’t properly clean their machines between each drink, cross-contaminating soy with cow’s milk, and cow’s milk with soy.

Starbucks could dedicate one steam wand to milk and one steam wand to soy. But instead, Starbucks, states in email that “the steam wand is wiped between each use with a wiping cloth moistened in sanitizing solution, removing the majority of food residue and subsequently removing the majority of proteins which trigger allergic reaction,” and that they “provide thorough allergen training to all baristas.” Aside from the fact that this process violates what most of us would call “allergen training,” every allergist and allergic person will agree that the little bit left is going to make someone very sick. In fact, someone who is very sensitive can be killed by that little bit of food residue left behind by the Starbucks-approved cleaning procedure.

No barista I have spoken to has told me that he or she has received allergen training from Starbucks.

I was also told that “our baristas also use separate steaming pitchers, blender pitchers, lids and foam spoons for milk and soy in order to minimize allergen transfer.” That’s funny because when I mentioned to a barista to ensure he used a non-soy steaming pitcher, he growled at me, while his shift manager told me that the steaming pitchers were rinsed between drinks and not necessarily fully cleaned. This was right before they handed me a mocha with chocolate shavings on top, despite the fact I had just told the shift manager when ordering my drink that chocolate shavings had soy in them and they couldn’t go on my drink. They re-made the drink without the shavings. Then I found out the steaming wand cross-contaminated the milk with soy. (I dumped out the drink.)

Because people with allergies are protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA, Starbucks is breaking the law by not accommodating them.

Starbuck, in an email (but not on their website), maintains that their “customized beverages are made on shared equipment” so they won’t take responsibility for cross contamination and that they do not have to ensure that an allergy free drink is made. “If a customer has any concerns regarding allergens, we advise the customer not to consume a hand-crafted beverage, rather to purchase a pre-packaged ready-to-drink beverage in our food case.” Thus, customers with allergies are told they are not to ask for accommodations under the ADA, but rather, they should restrict their purchases to only those pre-packaged drinks that may or may not be in each Starbuck’s cold case. Telling someone not to request an accommodation may also violate the law, but if it doesn’t it’s just creepy. As a public store, Starbucks is bound by the ADA.

If you want to email the Starbucks employee who told me all of this, please email Eli at Support@starbucks.com.

Eli wrote that “Starbucks has taken thoughtful steps to ensure that our store environment is clean and safe for the enjoyment of our customers.” Telling me that I can drink bottled coffee drinks and am not allowed to have an espresso, a latte or a mocha is not a thoughtful step. Obviously, Eli’s ideas of thoughtful, safe and enjoyment are very different than mine.

I wrote this petition because I promised Eli that if he didn’t take me seriously and ensure changes were made, that I would put a petition on Change.org.

Please sign my petition and help us to get Starbucks to stop endangering the lives of millions of people around the globe. I know it may seem like a small thing, but it’s our lives and our money and it’s time we hold this corporation liable for what they are doing. So let’s show Starbucks that we have the clout to make them change their minds and their actions. Let’s tell Howard Schultz that he needs to stop worrying about Congress, and get back to worrying about his own “house” – Starbucks.

Thank you,

PS: I am also boycotting Starbucks until they change.