A woman with a hops allergy is suing an Oregon eatery after she reportedly suffered anaphylactic shock from a beer-battered onion ring during a Mother’s Day celebration.
Mui Van, 32, filed the $155,000 suit against iWingz this month — more than two years after the nightmarish family outing at the arcade-restaurant that specializes in greasy foods like fried twinkies, chicken wings and burgers.
Van, who was with her hubby and kids, had notified the server at the restaurant that she was extremely allergic to beer — more specifically, hops — and asked if the onion rings could be made without beer batter. The Oregonian reported, citing the lawsuit.
The server allegedly said they could serve onion rings without the batter, saying, “Yeah, yeah, we can do that.”
After taking a bite of an onion ring, Van’s lips began to swell, her throat began to close up and she had a hard time breathing — key signs of anaphylactic shock, according to the lawsuit. Her husband immediately took her to the hospital.
Van’s attorney, Jory Lange, told The Oregonian that Van has suffered “continuous anxiety” over whether she might accidentally buy or consume products made with beer, despite routinely checking labels at grocery stores and questioning staff at restaurants.
“Unless you’re a farmer making your own food, you’ve got to be able to trust either the grocery store or the restaurant to tell you about what you’re putting in the food,” Lange said.
iWingz does not currently have onion rings on its menu, but they do serve “onion chips” which are described as “hand breaded onion pieces.”
Lange told The Post that while hops isn’t one of the top nine food allergies, restaurants “need to be able to do what they say they can do.”
“Be honest what’s in it. It had the batter in it — it shouldn’t have,” Lange continued.
A “beer allergy” it can be a result of many different allergies, including alcohol, barley, hops, yeast, food colorings and preservatives, according to Healthline.
Hops flowers are added to beer primarily to balance the intense sweetness of malted barley with bitterness, while also providing aroma, flavor, and natural preservation. They act as an antimicrobial agent to extend shelf life and help create a stable, foamy head.
iWingz did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.