Although true food allergies are not as common as people think, they are certainly risky and demand serious attention when choosing what to eat when dining out.
Eggs, milk and even nuts can sneak into recipes without warning. Other ingredients may be not be readily apparent. This is where it’s imperative for you to step up the detective work.
Your first line of defense is your server, who should be able to describe menu items and their ingredients in detail. However, this is no time to guess what’s in a dish. So if the server doesn’t know for sure, talk to the manager or the chef. And if there’s a question about a product, such as a sauce or stock or type of frying oil used to make the dish, ask to see the container’s label.
The National Restaurant Association, in partnership with the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, has created educational materials for restaurant workers. But to be sure, ask about the following practices:
* Kitchen staff should be trained to avoid cross-contaminating foods with potential allergenic foods. For example, are mixers thoroughly cleaned in between preparation of recipes with and without nuts?
* Chefs may be able to prepare allergen-free versions of some items upon request.
* Chefs should never add a ”mystery ingredient” just to be creative without listing it on the menu or telling the wait staff. Make sure to clearly communicate your list of allergens to heighten concern in the kitchen.
* Chefs should avoid casual product substitutions such as using peanut oil one day and canola oil the next. So even if you’ve safely been enjoying a dish for years, make sure to check that ingredients haven’t changed.
* Restaurant staff should be aware that even a minuscule amount of food can set off a severe allergic reaction. For example, some people are allergic to mollusks but not to fin fish. Make sure to ask what kind of seafood was used to make the “seafood sauce” served with the fish.
Don’t use the “A” word lightly when dining out. Carrie Bradshaw, in a scene from “Sex and the City,” tells the waiter she’s allergic to parsley because she just doesn’t like parsley. Her date got mad at her: Food allergies are potentially life-threatening for some people, so the rest of us shouldn’t cry wolf and demand a high alert from the restaurant staff if it’s not really necessary.