Let Pammy teach us not to take chances

Always Remain Vigilant at Restaurants

I just read an interesting blog post from a woman named Pammy at The Food Allergy Dilemma (2/2/10). She describes how she manages to go to many Asian restaurants, where peas are often added into the rice she orders, despite having a pea allergy. As she describes, “I usually just pick them out. I guess that’s not a good idea.”

Certainly not. Fortunately, Pammy’s allergies are not life threatening (though incredibly uncomfortable and disruptive to her life) since she “accidentally ate one [pea] or there’s pea residue to take into consideration” and it “rendered an enormous attack.”

Let this serve as another reminder, particularly for those who are susceptible to anaphylactic reactions, not to get lax about vigilance at restaurants. Please don’t try to pick the offending allergen out of the meal. As Pammy speculates, any remaining residue can still trigger a serious reaction. This also demonstrates why it is extremely important for you to feel comfortable that the waiters and others at a restaurant understand the risks of cross contamination. (Hopefully, the core AllergyEats site can help in this respect.)

Expect reminders like this periodically on the AllergyEats Blog. We can never be reminded enough.

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(To read Pammy’s full blog entry, click here to go to her Food Allergy Dilemma blog.)