"Dan Abel" > wrote in message
...
> In article >, Ranee
> Mueller > wrote:
>
>
>> I'm sorry, if someone doesn't know enough to decline when another
>> person offers them something to which they are allergic, their death is
>> a suicide.
>
>
> It seems pretty clear that someone who has a reaction to ginger shouldn't
> consume ginger ale, or ginger chicken, or anything with ginger in the
> name. Some things aren't so obvious, though. There was a tragic case
> some time back, where a restaurant sold chili with a secret ingredient in
> it. Somebody found out the secret ingredient the hard way, by dying from
> it. It was peanut butter. Most people wouldn't expect to find peanut
> butter in their chili.
>
> --
> Dan Abel
> Sonoma State University
> AIS
>
That was the whole point I was trying to make with my original message. I'm
not so stupid as to think ginger ale would not have ginger in it...but some
ingredients simply are not obvious (as you say) in many cases. I have been
to some parties where nonalcoholic beverages were served without specifying
what they were. Admittedly, I would undoubtedly ask about that. However, I
had a really horrendous reaction when a restaurant told me there was no
ginger in the food. It turned out that they used a spice mix, and there
*was* ginger in it. I spent the entire night alternating between diarrhea
and vomiting along with incredibly painful muscle spasms. People too often
think of allergies as "minor" when they can be very painful -- or even
deadly. I also will *ask* about what is being served, but it is much nicer
when the hostess volunteers information -- not a complete list of
ingredients, but with the simple question about whether anything needs to be
avoided. Many people do this, and I really appreciate it.
MaryL