Quebec waiter won't be charged for serving salmon to man with seafood allergy

A Sherbrooke, Que., waiter who served salmon tartare to a man with a seafood allergy won't be charged with criminal negligence.

Police had previously saidthe servercould be charged.

• Waiter arrested after seafood puts customer incoma

Simon-PierreCanuel, a34-year-old Gatineau resident,was treatedfor anaphylactic shock after eating the food on May 29.

In a document obtained by Radio-Canada, the office of Quebec'sdirector of criminal and penal prosecutions said it had determined thatthe waiter did not commit a criminal infraction.

The casegenerated heated debateabout the rights andresponsibilitiesof restaurant staffand those of people withfood allergies.

'Win-win' for restaurants, people with food allergies

One Montreal restaurant owner called theCrownprosecutor's officedecisiona good move.

"I think it's a win-win situation for both people with allergies and for restaurants.Restaurants would become incredibly fearful of feeding anybody who mentioned they had any foodallergiesat all,"David Ferguson, owner of Gus Restaurant, told CBC Montreal's radioshow Homerun.

"And particularly the fact that was it a server who could be charged I'd feel very awkward putting one of my servers into that situation."

Ferguson said the culture has changed a lot in recent years around food allergies, and it's something restaurants take very seriously.

"It's unfortunate what happened. Sometimes things do slip through the cracks,but if we're living in a world of litigation and criminal chargesthen it will just make everybody fear even more."

More on this story:

• Fish served nearly kills customer. Is it a crime?
• Quebec man seeks damages after he says salmon meal put him in a coma