I have been allergic to dairy products, among other things, for several years. So when I visit restaurants, I always politely request “no cheese or sour cream.” The next thing you know, I get an entree with cream sauce. Most food servers don’t even know this contains dairy!

Since menus are never explicit about exactly what allergenic ingredients are in main dishes, I’ll ask the waiter if a certain dish contains dairy if I’m not sure. Sometimes I ask if it contains something else that I am allergic to. They automatically look at you like you are the most demanding person on the planet! So I have to explain that I am allergic to dairy products and certain other ingredients. They will look concerned and tell me that they will talk to the chef to find out what is in the entrance that I am questioning.

They usually come back to the table and explain that the chef doesn’t know what some of the sauces or ingredients are in because they are shipped prepackaged or bottled. So sometimes I take a chance and ask for a ticket thinking it’s okay. Even fish tartar sauce is sometimes made with sour cream, although I like that it is made with mayonnaise and have had to stop eating it after trying it.

I once ordered the dinner that I was allergic to without knowing it and immediately started having a reaction and asked them to take it away, then I ate the bread that came with the meal. I was very happy when they removed my order from the invoice, but it could have been prevented in the first place if they had been more knowledgeable about the ingredients.

I really appreciate the fact that allergenic ingredients are now required to be included in most types of products in grocery stores. Especially when the label clearly states that the product contains milk, rather than having to read through the long list of ingredients that often list milk as “whey” or “casein.” When you are allergic to dairy products especially, it is always wise to learn the different terms for dairy because not all products are clearly written on food labels. Some products say “dairy free” on the front label, but the ingredient label lists casein, so the labels need to be carefully checked.

While we’re on the topic of food labels with allergen information, a thought comes to mind (okay … I’ve been thinking about this for a long time!) Why aren’t restaurants required to list clearly the allergen ingredients on the menus next to the ticket description? Are we allergy sufferers asking too much?

I guess if I didn’t have food allergies, I wouldn’t care if restaurants had them or not. But if a person ever experiences what it feels like to have an instant allergic reaction to food or some of the “soon to follow” reactions, they will really want this information on every restaurant menu.

How nice it would be not to have to hassle the waiter and have a dinner where I wouldn’t have to worry if I’m going to pass out, have shortness of breath, or worse!

Food allergies are becoming more common every day. I am in favor of getting this valuable information on all restaurant menus! When will this happen? Soon I hope.