Anaphylaxis Response Plan Restaurants

An anaphylaxis response plan is a short, written procedure that tells your team exactly what to do when a customer has a severe allergic reaction. Anaphylaxis is a life-threatening medical emergency, and the response happens in minutes — there is no time to improvise. Every Australian restaurant that serves food to the public should have a plan, rehearse it, and make sure every shift knows their role. This guide sets out a plan you can adapt today. What Does Anaphylaxis Look Like? Anaphylaxis is a rapid, whole-body allergic reaction. Recognising it early is the single most important skill your team can have. Signs include: Skin: hives, widespread redness, itching. Swelling: of the lips, face, eyes or tongue. Breathing: difficulty breathing, noisy breathing, wheezing, persistent cough, throat tightness or a hoarse voice. Gut: vomiting, abdominal pain. Circulation: dizziness, pale or floppy appearance, collapse or loss of consciousness. Any one of the breathing, throat or circulation signs is a red flag for anaphylaxis. When in doubt, treat it as anaphylaxis and act — under-reacting is far more dangerous than over-reacting. The Plan: What to Do in the First Five Minutes The answer to "what do I do first" is: recognise, position, call 000, and treat with adrenaline if available. Follow this sequence: Recognise the symptoms and act immediately. Do not wait to see if it settles. Position the person. Lay them flat; if breathing is difficult, allow them to sit but do not let them stand or walk. Sudden standing can be dangerous. Call 000 immediately and say the word "anaphylaxis" so the operator prioritises the response. Use an adrenaline autoinjector (such as an EpiPen) if one is available and the person cannot self-administer, following the device instructions and the guidance of the 000 operator. Stay with the person and keep monitoring until paramedics arrive. A second dose may be needed if there is no improvement after five minutes and another device is available. Print this sequence and display it where staff can see it. A response plan only works if it is visible and rehearsed, not buried in a folder. Who Does What? Assigning Roles In an emergency, confusion costs time. Assign clear roles at the start of each shift so nobody hesitates: Manager on duty leads the response and stays with the affected person. One staff member calls 000 and relays instructions from the operator. One staff member preserves the dish, packaging and any ingredients for later investigation — do not discard them. One staff member meets paramedics at the entrance and guides them directly to the person. Record these role assignments in your shift setup. FoodSafety HQ's team and certification tracking makes it easy to confirm who on each shift is trained in emergency response. What Happens After the Incident? Once the person is in medical care, the work is not over. A thorough post-incident process protects future customers and your business: Document everything — what was ordered, what was served, who handled it, the symptoms observed and the actions taken, with times. Notify your insurer promptly, as most policies require timely reporting. Investigate the root cause — was an allergen present that should not have been? Was there cross-contact? Was communication broken between the customer, server and kitchen? Implement corrective actions so the same failure cannot recur, and record them. Structured records matter here. A defensible incident log and a documented corrective-action trail demonstrate that you took the event seriously and acted responsibly. See our allergen incident communication guide for how to handle the customer conversation. How Often Should You Train and Drill? Run an anaphylaxis drill at least quarterly. Include role-play of the full sequence, practice with a trainer autoinjector device, and a review of where the response could be faster. Add anaphylaxis awareness to induction for every new hire and log completion in your training records . Reactions are rare, so the only way staff stay ready is regular rehearsal. How Does This Connect to Allergen Compliance? A response plan is the last line of defence; prevention is the first. Robust allergen management — accurate menu information, verified suppliers and controlled cross-contact — is what stops a reaction happening at all. Australia's food allergen labelling rules are set by Food Standards Australia New Zealand , and the PEAL (Plain English Allergen Labelling) requirements took effect for many businesses, with the transition period concluding in February 2026. Our PEAL compliance tools help you keep allergen information accurate so the response plan is a rare backstop, not a routine event. Keeping the Plan Visible and Accessible A response plan that lives in a folder nobody opens is worthless in an emergency. The plan only works if it is visible, current and known by everyone on shift. Practical steps to keep it live: Display the first-five-minutes sequence where staff congregate — near the pass, the office or the staff area. Assign emergency roles at the start of every shift , not in the moment. Keep it current — update contact details, first-aid officers and any autoinjector locations whenever they change. Brief casual and agency staff , who are often the ones present when regulars are not. Multi-site operators face an added challenge: every venue needs the same standard of readiness. Standardising the plan and its drill schedule through multi-venue management means a customer receives the same competent response whichever location they walk into. Consistency across sites is what turns a written plan into a genuine safety net. Why Prevention Still Comes First An anaphylaxis plan is essential, but it is the response to a failure — the goal is to never need it. Accurate menu allergen information, verified suppliers, disciplined cross-contact controls and well-trained front-of-house staff are what stop a reaction occurring in the first place. Every