We just returned from 2 weeks in France and Italy. Our 9 year old son is allergic to peanuts and peanut oill and peanut flower. To be safe we had the sentence my son is allergic to peanuts written in French and Italian by friends before we left, thank goodness.
We were surprised how many restaurants, bakeries, etc, use peanut oil in their cooking in Europe. It seemed as if they used it on all products or not at all. Since we aimed for locals places and sometimes the English was a challenge, we handed our waiter our card and they were always happy to check with the kitchen to make sure there were no problems. We had none. If they were not sure at a bakery we went to the next one. We did not take chances.
After a few days we learned to have our hotel call ahead to see if peanut oil was used. This avoided problems at the restaurant.
We run into this every so often in the U.S. but it was a much larger issue over there.
Has anyone else experienced this problem? I am writing this to warn other parents.
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Sorry to hear of the difficulties of avoiding peanut oil. Unlike the USA and UK there aren%26#39;t really any warnings on food products in most of Europe for such things. My brother%26#39;s wife has a very serious garlic allergy that has almost killed her in the past - even being near somebody who has eaten it will bring her out in terrible rashes and her throat starts to close up. As you can imagine France is a nightmare for her. It%26#39;s amazing to discover just how many food products have garlic - even oven baked potato wedges from the supermarket.
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Thanks so much for your posting. My son is also PA and we%26#39;re thinking of going to Rome via Air France. Which airline did you use and how was it as far as peanuts?
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we flew united, no problems on the airline. We carried a note in France and Italian and handed it to the waiter as soon as they came to the table. Everyone was very helpful to make sure our son was safe.
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I am really not surprised. Food allergies are not discussed here like they are in the US, so awareness is WAY down.
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Would you be willing to share the note? I%26#39;m PA and going to Paris for the first time in October.
Thanks!
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Warning,, although most airlines have gone peanut free for their snacks anyways,, its the other passengers you will have to deal with... some of whom are not understanding,, and or, are very selfish. I was once on a very long thread( can%26#39;t remember which forum ,,but I don%26#39;t think it was TA) and the question was %26quot; what snacks do you bring on the plane%26quot;
I suggested that people not bring peanuts as some people are deadly allergic to them,, and you would not beleive the selfish replies people posted,, many did not really think their peanuts would bother anyone else( I tried to explain that even a smear of peanut butter on ones had could contmainant an area) and some even suggested that people that %26quot;sensitive%26quot; could or should, just stay home. !!
BTW We had a PA young girl on a Family tour of Eur ope tour I took two years ago. The guide asked everyone to not eat peanuts or chocolate with nuts on it on the bus to be considerate. I witnessed one mom who continued to hand her children baggies with trail mix( nuts and raisens) in them almost every %26quot;bus%26quot; day... she just told them to be %26quot;careful%26quot; like a 7 yr old couldn%26#39;t drop a peanut.. that mother just didn%26#39;t believe that anyone could get that sick from an allergy.. the mother did finatlly confront the whole group of us( with permission from the guide) ) and once again explained how sensitive a PA can be,, and that it can kill. People did smarten up after that ..
Good luck to those who have to deal with that ,,
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There is a reason why food allergies are less discussed in Europe than in the States: non-genetic food allergies are much less prevalent here, probably due to less/better processed food intake day in day out. I don%26#39;t know any European, directly or remotely, who has food allergies, neither do my friends and family. Allergy to cats, pollen, etc. yes, but food... The most common food allergy in Europe is Celiac disease and it is genetic.
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I am coeliac and have other food allergies - however one thing i can acquire readily at airports to eat on trips is peanuts- sometimes thats the only thing i can find easily and i am not exactly a novice at finding stuff to eat in different parts of the world
Its a huge issue for me because i have been in situations where i have been forced to discard food items that i%26#39;ve brought with me for some reason [ the oil or water in canned fish does not pass through security now] and had to fall back on peanuts -its not as simple as not caring or not being understanding of other people%26#39;s issues.
Though personally, if i had such a serious allergy in terms of amnaphylaxis [rather than cancer risk] i would not take the risk of travelling by ANY public transport - and i%26#39;m a non driver.
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