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Eating out

eating out

  • ALWAYS carry your adrenaline (epinephrine) injector and ASCIA Action Plan with you.

  • ALWAYS disclose your food allergy to staff. Tell them clearly that you have an allergy and do not just ask if something has milk/egg/peanut in it.

  • If after all your checks, you still are not confident the food is safe, don’t eat it!

  • Think about alcohol consumption as it may affect your judgement about appropriate food choices and then emergency care if a reaction occurs.

Restaurants

  • Look for suitable restaurants. View the menus online and avoid high risk cuisines/situations (e.g. buffet restaurants as there is a high risk of cross contamination; Asian restaurants if you have peanut allergy, seafood restaurants if you are allergic to fish or crustacea).

  • Call ahead to inform the restaurant about your food allergy and ask about possible menu choices.

  • Do not ask for a guarantee. You can minimise the risk of an allergic reaction but it can never be removed.

  • Consider an earlier sitting when the restaurant may not be so busy.

  • Discuss specific ingredients and the risk of cross contamination during storage, preparation, cooking and service of your meal with the chef.

  • Dishes with fewer ingredients are generally better options for people with food allergy.

  • Ask about food allergen content again when your food arrives.

  • Consider having an A&AA chef card to hand over when you make your order. This can then be handed to the chef by wait staff. The chef card should be returned with your meal.

The chef card can be downloaded for free from the Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia shop:

https://allergyfacts.org.au/shop/food-preparation-tools/chef-card-10-free 

Functions (wedding, work function, conference)

  • RSVP in writing, informing them of your food allergy and what foods you are allergic to.

  • Do not presume that because you complete a form about dietary requirements, that food served to you will be appropriate.

  • Follow up with an email to the function organiser reminding them of your food allergy. If possible, find out what food will be served at the function and how they plan to cater for your food allergy.

  • On arrival, let the event organiser know that you are the person with the food allergy.

  • On service, let the wait staff know about your food allergy and check they are providing you with the right meal each time a food is placed in front of you.

More tips on eating out:

Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia Eating out with Food Allergies

AAA eating out brochure

Content updated October 2021