Twist in the direction of the arrows to remove the cap, expose the orange tip, pull off the safety release and push the tip firmly against the thigh and hold in place for three seconds.

Many adults and children with severe allergies know these directions well. They’re what appear on the back of an EpiPen. They know what to do if they begin to have an allergic reaction; the steps are always the same. But what many new college students don’t know is how to navigate the dining halls when they first come onto campus.

In all dining commons on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus, there are signs stating which allergens are present near foods that contain them. However, there is a limited number of these signs present in dining halls and not all allergens are listed. For some students with allergies, these efforts still present shortcomings.

According to a study published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, eight percent of adolescents have allergies with rapid immune responses. However, the number of college students affected remains unknown.

Aynur Ozdemir, a sophomore journalism major who is allergic to tree nuts, developed an allergy to the green curry pho bowl in Hampshire Dining Commons. Her reaction occurred on Sept. 1 this year. Her lips began to tingle, look swollen and eventually she began to break out in hives.

“[It was] just coconut cream … They said they didn’t list it as an allergen because there is a specific amount … that you can use that’s not listed as an allergen,” Ozdemir said.

After this incident, she avoids eating any pho bowls in the dining halls and has been avoiding eating things she ate last year because they contain this ingredient.

UMass focuses on the top eight allergens, peanuts/tree nuts, wheat/gluten, milk, eggs, fish/shellfish, soy, corn and sesame, according to Dianna Sutherland, director of nutrition at the University. This, however, leaves students with more uncommon allergies unaware if a food contains their allergens.

According to a public records request obtained by the Massachusetts Daily Collegian, this semester, six allergic reactions have been reported to dining hall staff.  . In the Fall semester of 2021 there were 27 reactions, the highest from requested public records.

Since Jan. 1, 2021, there have been 102 allergic reactions reported to dining hall staff. However, the nature of these reactions remains unknown. The University has declined to release records tracking such incidents. Associate Chancellor of Compliance Christine Wilda said doing so would “disclose Protected Health Information,” a decision the Collegian appealed to the state Supervisor of Records.

In response to the Collegian’s appeal, Wilda provided allergens students reacted to since Jan. 1, 2021. However, ambulance records asked for in the appeal were not provided.

These reactions were self-reported and 52 of them were unknown allergens, half of all the reported reactions the Collegian received in the public record. In the Fall 2021 semester, 15 unknown allergen reactions were reported. Four unknown allergen reactions have been reported this semester.

According to an email sent by Sabrina Hafner, a dietitian on campus, it is recommended to “Stay Seated … Administer Your Epinephrine Auto-Injector, Call 911, Notify Management,” when having an allergic reaction.

After notifying management, dining staff give students a reaction form. The form includes an area for the allergies the student may have and whether they had to use their EpiPen or not.

David Hom is a UMass education major who is allergic to tree nuts, dairy and mustard.

“Before I go [to the dining hall to] eat I have to go into the [UMass dining] app and actually look through what I am planning to eat,” Hom said. “So it’s not like I walk around and just grab what I feel like, I walk in knowing what I’m going to get.”

Another struggle Hom raised is not being able to find the food that’s listed in the dining app. When looking at the app, students are able to see what is being served, yet Hom says there are instances where these foods are not available.

Another resource for students with allergies is an alternative dining app, the UMass SAFE Dining App. It can be used to order meals a day before picking them up. For students to gain access to the SAFE app, they must be registered with disability services.

“We need to know how many meals need to be prepared the next day … we need time to be able to know how many students were cooking individual meals for in order to make sure we have the time and staff [to prepare those] foods properly,” Sutherland said.

According to Sutherland, over 20,000 students are on a meal plan and 10 percent of these students have an allergy or dietary restrictions.

Staff in the dining halls must undergo allergy training when they are first hired and then annually. The training is known as management and allergy training, and two different versions are conducted depending on dining hall staff’s rank.

If employees do not pass training, they are unable to make allergy meals for students using the SAFE app, Sutherland said.

Students who have access to the SAFE app are not just those allergic to peanuts or tree-nuts, they also include people who have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that causes an intolerance to gluten.

Across the four dining halls at UMass, there are two designated gluten free stations in Franklin and Hampshire Dining Commons. At these stations, students can get gluten free meals, deserts and bread.

Any student can go up and take the food that is available, which leaves many students with gluten intolerances or celiac disease feeling as though there is less variety in their options. Rotations of the menus is one leading factor in this feeling of not having enough variety.

According to Sutherland, the menus in dining halls are on a three-week menu cycle, whereas some stations are on a one-week cycle depending on the dining commons and stations. The stations on a one-week cycle are unclear. However, gluten free students have raised complaints that there are normally the same options every few weeks.

“If students are not happy with [the selection], they should be saying something,” Sutherland said.

Emma Bensley can be reached at [email protected]u.