Jason and Trina Cunningham with their son Liam, 3, and Paxton, 1, outside Lone Star Rib House. Picture: Dione Davidson/The West Australian

A Perth father's call to remove free peanuts off tables at a local restaurant has triggered debate on the line between personal responsibility and public safety when it comes to food allergies.

Jason Cunningham, whose four-year-old son Liam has a serious peanut allergy, is concerned peanuts from Lone Star Rib House in Cockburn are winding up in a nearby playground, putting children at risk of life-threatening anaphylaxis.

But franchise owner Graeme Diamond says restaurateurs can only do so much.

"At the end of the day, if they have a peanut allergy, we wouldn't expect them to come here," he said.

"The playground's 20 to 30 metres from our restaurant . . . there's not a lot we can do about that."

Mr Cunningham said he did not want peanuts banned from restaurants but Lone Star was taking a "completely unnecessary" risk.

"There are a lot of people who don't understand the serious life-and-death nature of the condition and people tend to think the parents of these kids are obsessing or helicopter parenting," he said.

"I'm forever hearing people grumbling about schools becoming peanut-free. If these people witnessed a small child having an anaphylactic attack, they would soon change their tune."

Australian Medical Association WA president Michael Gannon, who has a peanut allergy, said they must be taken seriously.

"For reasons we don't fully understand, instances of peanut allergies are on the rise," he said.

"I think that vendors or cafes, restaurants and bars need to be aware."

Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia president Maria Said said Lone Star restaurants were historically known for their peanuts and if they advertised that fact, they were "probably doing what they can" to warn people with allergies not to visit.

But she said restaurants generally needed more information and training on food allergies and to know what their responsibilities were.

A spokeswoman for Cockburn Gateway, which houses Lone Star, said the playground was in a public space and "we would expect parents with children who have severe food allergies to take the same precautions just like in any other public space".