AllergyEats Wins About.com 2012 Readers’ Choice Award for Best Food Allergy App

THANK YOU to all who voted for AllergyEats and made this possible!

AllergyEats, The Most Comprehensive Source for Finding Allergy-Friendly Restaurants, Demonstrates Value, Provides Solution for Food Allergy Community

BOSTON, MA (April 2, 2012) – AllergyEats (www.allergyeats.com), the biggest and most comprehensive source for finding allergy-friendly restaurants, today announced that the AllergyEats smartphone app has been selected as the About.com 2012 Readers’ Choice Award winner for best Food Allergy App. Now in its fifth year, the About.com Readers’ Choice Awards honor the best products, features and services across more than a dozen categories, ranging from technology to hobbies to parenting and more, as selected by its readers.

AllergyEats, a free website and smartphone app, provides valuable, peer-based ratings and feedback about how well (or poorly) restaurants accommodate food-allergic customers, allowing the food allergy community to make more informed decisions about where to dine.

“This year’s Readers’ Choice Awards program had a record number of nominations submitted across dozens of categories and featured hundreds of finalists,” said Margot Weiss, managing editor, About.com. “We are thankful to all our readers for their participation and congratulate AllergyEats on their success.”

“We’re absolutely honored to win Best Food Allergy App in About.com’s prestigious awards program,” said Paul Antico, Founder of AllergyEats, food allergy advocate and father of three food-allergic children. “My family knows first-hand how stressful it can be to find restaurants that understand – and will cater to – food allergies. Winning this award – based on reader input – demonstrates that AllergyEats is providing a muchneeded solution for food-allergic individuals and families.”

AllergyEats was also a finalist for the competition’s Best Food Allergy Online Support category.

AllergyEats lists well over 575,000 restaurants nationwide, which food-allergic diners can rate. The site also offers information on restaurants’ menus (including gluten-free menus), allergen lists, nutrition information, certifications, web links, directions and more.

AllergyEats helps families with food allergies reduce the guesswork – and the anxiety – surrounding dining out with food allergies. The peer-based ratings and review site lets people see at-a-glance which restaurants are willing and better able to accommodate special dietary requirements – and which are not. Users can find information about restaurants nationwide, helping them make more informed decisions whether they’re dining out across the street, across town or across the country.

Over the past few years, Antico has added a variety of handy new features, like the free AllergyEats mobile app, which provides access to restaurants’ menus, ratings, directions, websites and other information while on-the-go. The AllergyEats Disney World microsite (www.allergyeats.com/disney) helps families navigate the many restaurant options in and around the theme parks, reducing the worry that often accompanies traveling with food allergies. Additionally, members of the food allergy community can easily share information, tips and advice on the AllergyEats Facebook page and Blog (www.facebook.com/AllergyEats and www.allergyeats.com/blog).

Most restaurant review sites include information about establishments’ food, ambiance or service, but AllergyEats is singularly focused on food allergies, with peer reviews spotlighting where people with food allergies or intolerances have more comfortably eaten and where they’ve encountered challenges.

AllergyEats has been endorsed by highly-respected food, health and allergy organizations and individuals, including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Gluten Intolerance Group, Massachusetts Restaurant Association, Chef Ming Tsai, Chef Joel Schaefer and more.

For more information, please go to www.AllergyEats.com.

To view the Best Food Allergy App award and all award winners, please visit awards.about.com. Follow About.com on Twitter and Facebook.

About The About Group 

The About Group comprises the Web sites About.com, ConsumerSearch.com and CalorieCount.com. About.com is a valuable platform for content that helps users solve the large and small needs of everyday life. ConsumerSearch.com analyzes expert and user-generated consumer product reviews and recommends the best products to purchase based on the findings. CalorieCount.com is an online resource that helps users solve the everyday challenges of losing weight and living a healthy lifestyle.

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