If you have traveled to UK/France with nut allergies

[Anonymous]

What do I need to be thinking about? Plan to go this summer with a 17 year old with peanut and walnut allergies. She’s already worried she won’t be able to enjoy the food.

What should we expect, and what do we need to do to prep? Thanks for any tips.

[Anonymous]

There are some apps you can download that will give you local allergy guides. My coworker was using this abroad because she has celiac and could find reviews from other people with celiac about where they could safely eat.

[Anonymous]

Watch out for hazelnuts and almonds in baked goods and chocolates in France, and even on top of fish.

[Anonymous]

You could get a place with a kitchen and shop on market day for local produce.

[Anonymous]

We traveled all over France and England with a child with a peanut, hazelnut, and walnut allergy. We never had a problem but we were always very upfront about the severity of his food allergies at every restaurant we walked into.

We also had his allergies saved on our phone in French that we would show waitstaff at restaurants. We were sure to always place his EpiPens directly on the table so there was never a question about the severity of his allergy.

Please note:

Je suis allergique aux noix / fruits a coque: The French phrase for "I have a nut allergy".

If you are purchasing food at a grocery store, please understand that Fruits a coque refers to a nut. So does noix, noisette. Peanut is arachide, and peanuts are cacahuètes. Walnut is noyer.

Also…please know that 112 is the number you would need to call for an ambulance in France (not 911). 112 and 999 both work in the UK for ambulance service. You will not need these numbers, but always important to know when traveling with a food allergy.

Perhaps obvious information, but…no chocolate shops and no bakeries. Just avoid them all! Carrefore, Cora, Monoprux…and any other big French grocery store will have tons of options for your child. We were able to purchase cheeses (again ask to make sure that they are safe), bread, meats, etc. from grocery stores. In certain stores, he could eat the prepackaged merengues, in others he could not. We purchased a lot of safe candy like moaoms, haribo, smarties (like m&ms…just read the label). We also found prepackaged custard desserts that were safe in grocery stores. She will be able to enjoy plenty of delicious meals…she just needs to clearly articulate her allergies. If a place feels off or if you are uncertain, do not eat there.

When ordering at a restaurant be sure to note to waitstaff that cross contamination would be an issue and do not order food with sauces. If she likes seafood, have her order it plain. If she likes steak, the same. When we travel, I always pack a shoebox or two filled with safe snacks for my kid. Madegood granola bars, safe cookies, homemade oatmeal mix and sprinkles (just add water). The key is preparation! Pack safe food as a back up! If you are booking restaurant reservations, review the menus online and look for allergens. Read reviews. And mostly importantly, be polite and clearly articulate the severity of her food allergies. Trust your gut. We had many cases where the chef would gone out and speak to us to reassure us that the good could be safe for my kid. Be sure to remind the waitstaff when they are not just placing the order, but delivering the food, that the dish is for the kid with the nut and peanut alkegies. Also, we found it easier to just say that our son was allergic to peanuts and nuts ( he is fine with almonds, pistachios, I.e.) but it is much safer to say all nuts when in a foreign country because of cross contaminations issues.

She should have a wonderful trip! Just remember to have her practice being very upfront about her allergies, carry 2-4 EpiPens at all times, and do not eat any airplane food (we always bring our own safe food for the plane and do not trust what is served on the plane).

If you are staying in hotels, be sure to request a fridge for your room.

She is in for a wonderful trip and some delicious food!

[Anonymous]

NP. Really good advice above. We traveled to UK/France with peanut allergic DC. If you don't speak French fluently, really good advice above to have food allergy statement in French on your food that you can show the server.

Though you didn't ask about this.....in case you ever go, we found Italy more difficult then expected. Lots of peanuts and peanut oil, which my DC avoids even though Allergist says it is probably fine. We just don't think it is worth the chance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We traveled all over France and England with a child with a peanut, hazelnut, and walnut allergy. We never had a problem but we were always very upfront about the severity of his food allergies at every restaurant we walked into.

We also had his allergies saved on our phone in French that we would show waitstaff at restaurants. We were sure to always place his EpiPens directly on the table so there was never a question about the severity of his allergy.

Please note:

Je suis allergique aux noix / fruits a coque: The French phrase for "I have a nut allergy".

If you are purchasing food at a grocery store, please understand that Fruits a coque refers to a nut. So does noix, noisette. Peanut is arachide, and peanuts are cacahuètes. Walnut is noyer.

Also…please know that 112 is the number you would need to call for an ambulance in France (not 911). 112 and 999 both work in the UK for ambulance service. You will not need these numbers, but always important to know when traveling with a food allergy.

Perhaps obvious information, but…no chocolate shops and no bakeries. Just avoid them all! Carrefore, Cora, Monoprux…and any other big French grocery store will have tons of options for your child. We were able to purchase cheeses (again ask to make sure that they are safe), bread, meats, etc. from grocery stores. In certain stores, he could eat the prepackaged merengues, in others he could not. We purchased a lot of safe candy like moaoms, haribo, smarties (like m&ms…just read the label). We also found prepackaged custard desserts that were safe in grocery stores. She will be able to enjoy plenty of delicious meals…she just needs to clearly articulate her allergies. If a place feels off or if you are uncertain, do not eat there.

When ordering at a restaurant be sure to note to waitstaff that cross contamination would be an issue and do not order food with sauces. If she likes seafood, have her order it plain. If she likes steak, the same. When we travel, I always pack a shoebox or two filled with safe snacks for my kid. Madegood granola bars, safe cookies, homemade oatmeal mix and sprinkles (just add water). The key is preparation! Pack safe food as a back up! If you are booking restaurant reservations, review the menus online and look for allergens. Read reviews. And mostly importantly, be polite and clearly articulate the severity of her food allergies. Trust your gut. We had many cases where the chef would gone out and speak to us to reassure us that the good could be safe for my kid. Be sure to remind the waitstaff when they are not just placing the order, but delivering the food, that the dish is for the kid with the nut and peanut alkegies. Also, we found it easier to just say that our son was allergic to peanuts and nuts ( he is fine with almonds, pistachios, I.e.) but it is much safer to say all nuts when in a foreign country because of cross contaminations issues.

She should have a wonderful trip! Just remember to have her practice being very upfront about her allergies, carry 2-4 EpiPens at all times, and do not eat any airplane food (we always bring our own safe food for the plane and do not trust what is served on the plane).

If you are staying in hotels, be sure to request a fridge for your room.

She is in for a wonderful trip and some delicious food!

OP here. She is going to find all of this totally depressing and upsetting.

[Anonymous]

I’m the PP with the long message above. I’m sorry if this will upset her. My kid has never been fazed by his allergies. That are a fact of life for him, and truthfully, except for knowing how to say I am allergic to nuts and peanuts in French, thus isn’t any different from how he treats eating out at restaurants in the US or grocery shopping in the US. He doesn’t eat at bakeries here either. We have traveled to multiple continents and we take the attitude that his allergies, although they require extra planning, don’t stop him from doing things! Perhaps you can phrase it that way for her, put a positive spin on it. Hey, great news! We are going to have a great time and there are going to be tons of things that you can eat! We are going to avoid bakeries though and we need to practice telling waitstaff that you have specific allergies in French.

[Anonymous]

Our experience in Europe is that many restaurants do not track or list potential allergens. By contrast, in Australia many restaurants both track and list potential allergens.