The story of a well-known celiac food blogger has caused a stir in the media who, contacted a restaurant by telephone to book a table, reports that she has been refused access to the restaurant after having manifested her pathology.
The question is: is this refusal legitimate?
The art. 187 of the Royal Decree n. 773 of 1931 reads as follows: “Without prejudice to the provisions of articles 689 and 691 of the penal code, operators cannot, without a legitimate reason, refuse the services of their exercise to anyone who requests them and pays the price".
On the basis of this provision, excluding the hypotheses provided for by the Criminal Code, the operator of a food administration business cannot without a legitimate reason - such as being affected by celiac disease cannot be defined as such - deny access and /or refuse service to a customer.
In general terms, it should be noted, on the basis of the reconstruction offered by the food blogger, that if on the one hand the owner of the bar or restaurant business is not required to introduce gluten-free proposals on his menu, on the other he cannot celiac disease constitute a reason for forbidding access to the venue.
Written by: Alessandro Klun
(@acenacondiritto)
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