# Has anyone ever been tried for murder for knowingly "challenging" food allergies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 18, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308 "2003-07-18T03:30:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/1 "2003-07-18T03:30:14Z")
In another thread (and in threads in the past), I’ve seen people claim that chefs have, when told about peanut or other allergies that would be dangerous or deadly to the diner, knowingly and secretly added that ingredient to show the diner that the allergy was psychosomatic. I’ve especially seen this related in terms of peanut allergies. My question is, has this ever resulted in a fatality? If so, were any criminal charges filed against the person who did so? How would such a case likely proceed, in terms of verdict? Just curious… ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/2 "2003-07-18T09:39:09Z")
If a person _knowingly_ put a substance someone was allergic to into a food I’d say they’d qualify for assault at the least, and, depending on intent, up to pre-meditated murder. But I don’t personally know of such a case or recall hearing of one. I’m bumping this a bit in hopes someone will come forward with either a story or some lawyerly information. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/3 "2003-07-18T10:04:42Z")
Would it actually be murder if the chef truly believed that the act would not harm the diner? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/4 "2003-07-18T10:25:10Z")
Luckily this case didn’t involve anyone’s death, but it might be of interest: **Cecil Adams** on [Are peanut allergies for real?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030613.html) > [@](#): > > A nanny in the UK was tried for child abuse last year after feeding a peanut butter sandwich to a toddler. The boy struggled for breath, lost consciousness, and was taken to a hospital. A witness testified that the nanny was told the child was allergic to peanuts, but that she’d said, “This way we will find out for sure and see if his mother is just neurotic.” ( **She was found not guilty.** ) (My emphasis). ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/5 "2003-07-18T12:41:58Z")
[how about this ?](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/652813.stm) ---
**Author:** ![cedric45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@cedric45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cedric45)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/6 "2003-07-18T13:06:58Z")
How wierd! Yesterday I watched an episode of “Nash Bridges” where this very thing occurred. Somebody put peanut oil into tequlia and the guy who drank it died. (yeah, I was taking a break from the heat) I would die if I _didn’t_ have peanut butter to eat.☹ ---
**Author:** ![cedric45](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@cedric45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cedric45)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/7 "2003-07-18T13:10:26Z")
that’s w-e-i-r-d… spellcheckspellcheckspellcheck…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/8 "2003-07-18T15:54:10Z")
What if I “accidentally” left a few squares of baking chocolate for my annoying neighbor’s vastly more annoying barking dog – could I be charged? ---
**Author:** ![Reepicheep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@Reepicheep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reepicheep)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/9 "2003-07-18T16:19:25Z")
Charged and convicted are two totally different things. The difference would depend on where you left the chocolate and how reasonable that place is for chocolate to be. Then could you reasonably expect the dog to get into that place. ---
**Author:** ![Tallayan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Tallayan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tallayan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-anyone-ever-been-tried-for-murder-for-knowingly-challenging-food-allergies/189308/10 "2003-07-18T17:15:36Z")
Yes if you intentionally poisoned the dog you would get charged and probobly convicted.