Traveling with Food Allergies

March 24, 2011

You can travel with food allergies.  I'm allergic to shellfish and nuts so traveling with a food allergy on a trip around the world seemed a little daunting but with a little work our six month trip around the world went by without me having any reactions.   

We started our trip by leaving the US and going to New Zealand.  In New Zealand, as in the USA, they label their packaged foods with the top allergens. Since everyone spoke English and I could read food packages - well labeled with allergens and menus were clear it was a easy country to travel in.

I'd still suggest paying attention and telling people about the allergy.  One day we went to a Thai restaurant in Auckland, New Zealand and ordered one chicken dish to share.  As the menu was in English and everyone spoke English I didn't even mention my allergies.  But when the meal came they had thrown shrimp on top of the chicken dish with peanuts placed around the sides (!) - neither of which were mentioned on the menu.  As Paul and the kids were trying to get to an early showing of the movie, 'Avatar'  instead of ordering more food I just had one cup of steamed rice for dinner.  From then on I mentioned my allergies while ordering and everyone in New Zealand took it very seriously and understood about allergies.

On a food related note - In New Zealand I ate the best creamiest, tastiest yogurt of my life - a boysenberry yogurt that was sooo yummy - as we traveled the world and when we got home I tried all different kinds of yogurt to try to duplicate that delicious taste.  Finally a friend shared Chobani Greek Yogurt with me and that was it - love as first taste.  I've been buying the raspberry and plain yogurt - but they have all kinds of great flavors.   If you are not in New Zealand it's the yogurt to get.

Australia also does a great job of labeling allergens on packaged food and helping out with allergy restrictions in restaurants.  If you are trying to eat gluten-free this is the country to go to.  Everywhere you go they label things gluten-free - they label gluten-free muffins in coffee shops and even have gluten-free ice cream labeled in ice cream shops.  Australia seems like a great country to go to for those paying attention to gluten issues.

New Zealand and Australia were easy places to travel with food allergies - it got more complicated in countries where they spoke other languages but it all worked out.

In Thailand I had a card, written in Thai for me by her mom who was born in Thailand, saying I had nut and shellfish allergies that I would show waiters before ordering.

As we traveled we carried with us a Kwikpoint translation card.  This card folds up to fit in a purse or pocket and is covered with common pictures - airplanes, numbers, different kinds of foods (pictures chickens, pigs, and cows for example) and much more.  I could point to a picture of a nut and then point to a 'no' symbol (or point o the nut and pretend to choke) and people got it!   

We even used the card in taxis to point out street numbers, when we wanted to order chicken for dinner,   and much more.  It was light and very easy to carry and well worth it.   You can get the card here:  http://www.kwikpoint.com/    

After starting our travels I learned there are companies that specialize in food allergy cards (and now there are some free apps) where you can buy laminated credit card size cards showing a picture of what you are allergic to and a description saying you are allergic in different languages.  If I had learned about this before leaving I imagine I would have gotten a bunch of cards but as we didn't know which languages we would need our Kwickpoint card worked well.  If I were traveling again and going to a few specific countries, where I would know for sure which languages I would need, I think I'd get specific cards for each country with pictures (some people are not literate) and translation as I felt very confident in Thailand with my Thai card. 

Happy traveling,

Jackie