Traveling with Food Allergies

Posted: Mar 7, 07 10:45am

Weve been looking forward to our upcoming trip to China, but the food issue had us stumped--my daughter and I are both lactose intolerant, and she doesnt eat meat. Fortunately, the local cuisine doesnt use many milk products so negotiating restaurants in Shanghai, Beijing and the countryside wont be a major problem. However, figuring out how to say no milk, cheese, or cream in Chinese, as well as no meat for Alissa had us stymied until we came across SelectWisely.

The company produces plastic laminated cards that state your food preferences and problems in a variety or languages, as well as picture cards that feature images of shellfish, milk or other culinary nemeses with the international do not symbol--a red circle with a diagonal line drawn through the forbidden items.

With these cards, if youre allergic to peanuts or shellfish, you can more safely sample that tucked away restaurant in Bangkok your friend raved about. And instead of wondering if the tasty tagine on the buffet table in Aswan, Egypt, contains cheese, you can just whip out your handy lactose intolerant card, printed in Arabic, and ask someone. Forget about memorizing (and later mispronouncing) key words. You dont want to get the sounds for cannot and like mixed up in Hindi when telling your server that you have to watch your salt intake. And if on a hike through villages in Cambodias countryside, you suddenly feel faint, just whip out the SelectWisely card for take me to the hospital in Khmer.

Cards range from $6.50 to $8.50 with special order cards costing around $15. And Ill let you know how our trip to China goes. I know lots of other people have food allergies. Id love to hear how you handle it while traveling.

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3 Comments // 3 Members

CandyceStapen

Posted: Mar 8, 07 9:44am

CandyceStapen wrote:

Weve been looking forward to our upcoming trip to China, but the food issue had us stumped--my daughter and I are both ...

I thought I'd post some pictures of the cards.

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Tyssa2000

Posted: Mar 8, 07 11:46am

CandyceStapen wrote:

Weve been looking forward to our upcoming trip to China, but the food issue had us stumped--my daughter and I are both ...

This product looks great Candyce! Thanks for posting about it. My son actually has an allergy to the protein in dairy products so I'll definitely be making cards the next time we head to a foreign country.

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GraceMarie1234

Posted: Dec 5, 07 2:58pm

Tyssa2000 wrote:

This product looks great Candyce! Thanks for posting about it. My son actually has an allergy to the protein in dairy pr...

Tyssa,

I, too, am allergic to casein (milk protein). I was sick for close to 20 years before discovering why. It is hard enough eating out in the US (so I just don't do it), I can't even imagine trying to communicate the problem in another language.

Just in case you're not aware, there is an organization that will email you food allergy alerts when a product is found to contain an allergen which is not declared on the label. I have avoided some close calls using this service. The org is called the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) and they are located at: www.foodallergy.org

If you click on the "Download" link you can print customizable "Chef Cards" for dining out, as well as restaurant posters (in English and Spanish) with food allergy guidelines for restaurant personnel.

I also enjoy www.NotMilk.com - this site contains so much good (and some off the wall) information that I'll probably never finish reading all of it.

I wish more people understood food allergies. No, I am NOT lactose intolerant! Gawd, I could live with THAT. (No offense meant Candyce.)

I sent email once to the editor of a diabetes site (www.dlife.com) that had an intro on their Nutrition page which said something like... "wouldn't it be nice if diabetes was like a food allergy. We could just take a pill everyday and eat whatever we want or just avoid the dairy isle."

I think steam escaped from my ears before I calmed down and, in my most humble teaching style, wrote to explain about food allergies. I explained how I can't even take most pills because they are bound (to make the powder stick together in pill for) with lactose - from milk. I wrote how I can't just avoid carbs (the real diabetic diet killer), rather I have to avoid foods in EVERY category. I explained how caramel color is made from milk (or sugar or milk & sugar) - that brown coloring in everything from black cherry jell-o to soft drinks to bacon to worcestershire sauce and BBQ seasoning. I explained that most soy products available in grocery stores still contain milk (e.g. Veggie Slices and Soy Joy snack bars). I explained how milk salts are used to preserve color in canned veggies. I explained how fortified peanut butter and 7-Up have milk calcium in them. I explained as calmly and clearly as I could, and do you know what that Editor wrote back to me? Nothing... not a word and that awful misleading page is still up there at last check.

I don't know how long you've been dealing with your son's allergy or how old he is, but if you ever need a pointer about diet or substitutes, please feel free to ask. I probably have or know of one.

Regards, Grace

Tyssa, I, too, am allergic to casein (milk protein). I was sick for close to 20 years before discovering why. It is hard enough eating out in the US (so I just don't do it), I can't even imagine trying to communicate the problem in another language. Just in case you're not aware, there is an organization that will email you food allergy alerts when a product is found to contain an allergen which is not declared on the label. I have avoided some close calls using this service. The org is called the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) and they are located at: www.foodallergy.org If you click on the "Download" link you can print customizable "Chef Cards" for dining out, as well as restaurant posters (in English and Spanish) with food allergy guidelines for restaurant personnel. I also enjoy www.NotMilk.com - this site contains so much good (and some off the wall) information that I'll probably never finish reading all of it. I wish more people understood food allergies. No, I am NOT lactose intolerant! Gawd, I could live with THAT. (No offense meant Candyce.) I sent email once to the editor of a diabetes site (www.dlife.com) that had an intro on their Nutrition page which said something like... "wouldn't it be nice if diabetes was like a food allergy. We could just take a pill everyday and eat whatever we want or just avoid the dairy isle." I think steam escaped from my ears before I calmed down and, in my most humble teaching style, wrote to explain about food allergies. I explained how I can't even take most pills because they are bound (to make the powder stick together in pill for) with lactose - from milk. I wrote how I can't just avoid carbs (the real diabetic diet killer), rather I have to avoid foods in EVERY category. I explained how caramel color is made from milk (or sugar or milk & sugar) - that brown coloring in everything from black cherry jell-o to soft drinks to bacon to worcestershire sauce and BBQ seasoning. I explained that most soy products available in grocery stores still contain milk (e.g. Veggie Slices and Soy Joy snack bars). I explained how milk salts are used to preserve color in canned veggies. I explained how fortified peanut butter and 7-Up have milk calcium in them. I explained as calmly and clearly as I could, and do you know what that Editor wrote back to me? Nothing... not a word and that awful misleading page is still up there at last check. I don't know how long you've been dealing with your son's allergy or how old he is, but if you ever need a pointer about diet or substitutes, please feel free to ask. I probably have or know of one. Regards, Grace

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Posted: Dec 5, 07 2:58pm

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Tyssa,

I, too, am allergic to casein (milk protein).  I was sick for close to 20 years before discovering why.  It is hard enough eating out in the US (so I just don't do it), I can't even imagine trying to communicate the problem in another language.

Just in case you're not aware, there is an organization that will email you food allergy alerts when a product is found to contain an allergen which is not declared on the label.  I have avoided some close calls using this service.  The org is called the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) and they are located at: www.foodallergy.org

I also enjoy www.NotMilk.com - this site contains so much good (and some off the wall) information that I'll probably never finish reading all of it.

I wish more people understood food allergies.  No, I am NOT lactose intolerant!  Gawd, I could live with THAT.  (No offense meant Candyce.)

I sent email once to the editor of a diabetes site (www.dlife.com) that had an intro on their Nutrition page which said something like... "wouldn't it be nice if diabetes was like a food allergy.  We could just take a pill everyday and eat whatever we want or just avoid the dairy isle."

I think steam escaped from my ears before I calmed down and, in my most humble teaching style, wrote to explain about food allergies.  I explained how I can't even take most pills because they are bound (to make the powder stick together in pill for) with lactose - from milk.  I wrote how I can't just avoid carbs (the real diabetic diet killer), rather I have to avoid foods in EVERY category.  I explained how caramel color is made from milk (or sugar or milk & sugar) - that brown coloring in everything from black cherry jell-o to soft drinks to bacon to  worcestershire sauce and BBQ seasoning.  I explained that most soy products available in grocery stores still contain milk (e.g. Veggie Slices and Soy Joy snack bars).  I explained how milk salts are used to preserve color in canned veggies.  I explained how fortified peanut butter and 7-Up have milk calcium in them.  I explained as calmly and clearly as I could, and do you know what that Editor wrote back to me?  Nothing... not a word and that awful misleading page is still up there at last check.

I don't know how long you've been dealing with your son's allergy or how old he is, but if you ever need a pointer about diet or substitutes, please feel free to ask.  I probably have or know of one.

Regards,  Grace

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