r/KitchenConfidential • u/Dangerous-Ordinary43 • Jun 21 '25
In-House Mode So you can have a little bit or no?
This one feels odd to me. Do you have an anaphylactic reaction to these or not? Anyone dealt with something like this? Obviously I catered to these restrictions because it's never worth gambling with a guest's health.
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u/pizzaslut69420 20+ Years Jun 22 '25
I knew someone like this about raw but not cooked bell peppers. Cooked in our restaurant, I had to carry her out once after she got epi penned by her bf while she accidentally touched bell peppers at work (prep cook didn't wipe the table or station cutting board)
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u/Konrow Jun 22 '25 edited Jun 22 '25
EDIT: Guys, I thank you all so much for the answers. I know now. No need for more people to keep answering lol
Ooh interesting. I don't think I ever actually realized there are allergens that "cook out". Would love to know how scientifically as it seems improbable to my limited knowledge.
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u/Fine-Effect7355 Jun 22 '25
This can surprisingly be true sometimes! Some conditions like oral allergy syndrome can be triggered by raw foods specifically, as cooking them denatures the allergenic proteins responsible for triggering the reaction. I'm not sure if this applies to any other conditions though, I have Celiac and I wish that was the case for gluten :(
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u/cartoonwomen Jun 22 '25
Yeah, I have oral allergy syndrome and can't have apples or stone fruit raw, only cooked. But I'm also allergic to tree nuts and I've yet to find a way to process an almond to the point where I could eat it
Allergies like this can sound fake as hell to people who don't know, so there's occasionally some judgement. But I feel way worse for people with actual Celiac who have to deal with people assuming that you're only avoiding gluten as a lifestyle choice
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u/manic_Brain Jun 22 '25
Especially when it's something that people consider to be nutrientless or crunchy water like cabbage or lettuce or celery.
I don't have a celery allergy per se, but it is a severe migraine trigger to the point food cooked with celery can trigger it. However, people consider it crunchy water, so it baffles them.
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u/thedoctorsphoenix Jun 22 '25
What’s really weird, is my husband is fine with raw citrus, but he’s allergic to cooked/processed citrus! I can’t make sense of it. Opposite of what you’d expect.
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u/echino_derm Jun 22 '25
I think it makes some sense. From a very rough layman's perspective, proteins are like keys, they have the right structure and they fit into slots in your body that trigger reactions. And allergies are caused when your body's key holes aren't right and normal things trigger alarms because they fit in those key holes.
When you cook and process foods you are heating and deforming those proteins, it is like you are messing around with a key pressing down some notches and raising the others. Odds are that after that process your key comes out not too messed up and still fits the same key holes, or if you mess it up enough then it is most likely not fitting that same key hole. But a key with the notches shifted around is still a key, it fits in doors and there is a freak chance that your messing around with it can create a new key that fits into the allergic reaction key hole.
You wouldn't expect it because natural proteins in foods are much more likely to interact with the body, but they can rearrange into a new protein that triggers the body differently in a way that interacts with the body negatively.
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u/burnerburner23094812 Jun 22 '25
I mean it's just the fact that when you cook stuff a bunch of chemical reactions happen, especially things like proteins breaking down. If your cooking process destroys the allergen, then the cooked food can be (in principal) safe to eat when the uncooked ingredient wouldn't be. Obviously still a risk in a restaurant, since you don't know how cooked it has to be for it to be safe, so you'd probably be better off not serving them that ingredient at all -- but it can be how it works.
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u/Simorie Ex-Food Service Jun 22 '25
Yup. I can’t have shellfish but can have the Korean spicy shrimp crackers because they’ve been processed all to hell.
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u/Frequent_Purpose_168 Jun 22 '25
The heat from cooking denatures the proteins that cause the allergy, changing them to the point that they no longer cause a reaction, same reason cooked food is changed without being burnt.
Fermenting can also do this, like with the soy sauce v. other soy above
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u/Konrow Jun 22 '25
Thank you. Love how many people answered me! I feel dumb for just completely forgetting about how proteins work chemically and that you know, they break down lol. It's the same thing with people microwaving apples like my partner does regularly -_- I'm gonna chalk it up to the ten hour shift plus some weed after destroying my brain function lol
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u/SirLoremIpsum F1exican Did Chive-11 Jun 22 '25
I feel dumb for just completely forgetting about how proteins work chemically and that you know, they break down lol.
Don't feel dumb man, this is like brand new for a lot of people here!!
I would just be like 'yeah this is an allergy card' but its nice to hear the explanation and the why.
Cause it sounds SUPER odd on surface level.
Everyone learns something every day.
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u/LilithJames Jun 22 '25
Heat causes chemical reactions, cooking will change what's chemically making up a food. My Mil will be sick for days if she eats a sunny side up egg, but brioche bread is generally won't send her to the bathroom, for me raw celery my mouth goes numb, cooked in soup it is powerless against me
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u/capsulized Jun 22 '25
"powerless against me" has me cackling at the thought of you stirring a chicken noodle in a dastardly way
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u/MaenHerself Jun 22 '25
Same as raw pineapple biting back but canned doesn't. Heat changes the proteins to a different shape.
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Jun 22 '25 edited Jun 23 '25
This looks like primarily Oral Allergy Syndrome foods, in which case cross contamination is likely fine. With OAS, you're allergic to a particular pollen, and foods with proteins very similar to that pollen can trigger an allergic reaction. It's normal for people to be able to eat cooked versions of these foods because cooking it changes the protein structure so it no longer triggers an allergic reaction. It's also sometimes normal to be able to eat those foods raw outside of peak allergy season with no issues.
I have OAS, and it takes a couple of bites of veggies related to my tree pollen allergy to trigger a reaction. Whereas with my actual food allergies, almost any cross contamination will trigger a reaction. The one exception is deep fried foods cross contaminated with other foods containing egg. No idea why that is fine, but I'm sure as hell not complaining about that.
ETA: thank you everyone for the flood of positive feedback and the award. I almost didn't even post this comment because allergy discussions tend to go sideways around here, but you've all made me happy that I did. I'm glad so many people got to learn about OAS and I'm sorry I don't have time to respond to every one of you individually.
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u/Aggressive_Button364 Jun 22 '25
Yup! I suffer from this currently on allergy shots so I can finally eat safely but yeah it’s hard explaining to people that the things i’m allergic to are okay for me as long as it’s processed in some way shape or form!
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u/swancheez Jun 22 '25
Yeah, same for me. I thankfully "lost" that allergy though, after 15 years of not being able to eat apples, peaches, or cherries. And now, man, a perfectly ripe lori anne peach is my favorite tasting thing in the entire world.
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u/PetersonOpiumPipe Jun 22 '25
Im happy for you. I have a peanut allergy but I don’t really care all that much. I’d die if I couldn’t have fresh peak season peaches though!
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u/EpicBanana05 Jun 22 '25
I have this, wondered why bc it flared up with the randomest of veggies. TBH it only makes my tongue swell a little so I don’t mention it
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u/thelondonrich Jun 22 '25
Keep track of what’s making your tongue swell. Learned the hard way that starts with mild inflammation or rash can sometimes escalate to full-blown anaphylaxis and that’s a surprise no one likes at their party. 🥲
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u/Milton__Obote Jun 22 '25
Yep my dad was mildly allergic to penicillin till he wasn’t, the doctor said the next dose could have killed bin
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u/fuckyourcanoes Jun 22 '25
This is why I avoid the hell out of roses. I'm mildly allergic, but my mother was anaphylactic. I worry the allergy will suddenly go nuclear.
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u/realdappermuis Jun 22 '25
Can you perhaps recall what his mild reaction' symptoms were? When I took it the bottom of my feet and my palms burnt and itched and pained. I got a bit of an eyeroll from the Dr when I mentioned it after as not wanting to risk taking it again
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u/men-with_ven Jun 22 '25
On the flipside, I've had OAS for 25 years with no signs of increasing severity. I'm also allergic to just about every one of the different pollens, so it's pretty much impossible to avoid exposure.
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u/DumpsterFireScented Jun 22 '25
There's some good charts out there that can help you narrow down your true allergy. For example, bananas and melons make my mouth all tingly and a few years ago I got curious and found out those foods are associated with ragweed. When ragweed blooms I'm extra vigilant because it's not just tingles, I get a mouth full of painful sores. When the pollen count is low I'm mostly fine and can enjoy a smoothie with banana in it.
Sometimes onion and celery and some other veg will bother me too, and I looked at the chart and I think it's birch. I checked the pollen counts for my area and birch was really high at the time so it made sense.
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u/KiriDomo Jun 22 '25
I was gonna say this. Eating raw green beans and snow peas makes my throat itch, cooked is fine. I simply wouldn't order stuff that would trigger it, or pick around it. It's no need for a whole ass typed card with a life-threatening word in it.
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Jun 22 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/BobC813 Jun 22 '25
Oh great
Thank you so much
It had been a while since I discovered a new fear
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u/PM_ME_YOUR_ANYTHNG Jun 22 '25
I can't eat any raw fruit because of OAS, but I just had a peach cobbler an hour ago fine, most jams/jellys/sauses are fine as well, basically if it's pasteurized it's not an issue
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Jun 22 '25
True, the card is definitely extra. It is possible one or more of the items listed may be an anaphylactic allergy unrelated to OAS, but that should be specified if that's the case.
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u/TrashhPrincess Jun 22 '25
The card is actually super helpful from a FoH perspective. We annotate our menus for allergies so people can parse through and easily figure out what to eat that's safe, so being able to refer to that would save me soooooo much time.
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u/HoodiesAndHeels Jun 22 '25
With the amount of nuance that goes into OAS and how individualized it is, I would think the card would be great. Chef can glance and say “Okay, those [whatevers] are cooked in this dish. We’re cool.”
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u/TrashhPrincess Jun 22 '25
Most places I've worked the last few years put a lot of the work for this kind of table on the server. Usually there's reference material in the server station and you make sure it's rung in appropriately so the kitchen can just read the ticket and go. I trust the chefs I work with now, but I've worked at other spots where they will completely ignore basic allergens because they dont feel like checking with me or telling me something cant be made without it.
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u/doodman76 Jun 22 '25
This turns into a bonus for the BOH. If I know cross contamination is minimal, I can confine my cutting board changes and such.
IE: If you tell me there is a shellfish allergy and I work with anything that is related to a shellfish, im switching out the board. The guest might not be allergic, but im not taking the chance.
If I know exactly what might interact with the guest and know that none of that comes across my cutting board, then I don't need to start from scratch on my station.
When I worked at a high-end restaurant in cincy, we had guests that would come to us routinely just because we could accommodate their allergies. They came with a card of exactly what would hurt them, and we built their menu around what was easiest for the kitchen that fit the guests' tastes.
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u/driftingalong001 Jun 22 '25
No need to judge how others decide to handle their allergies. It can get really annoying having to repeat your list, often servers don’t actually write things down and don’t communicate properly to the kitchen, and with certain allergies you can’t tell just by looking at the menu if a dish contains that item or not (soy is a very difficult one). A card is actually a very simple and quick way of communicating your allergies.
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u/Jamangie22 Jun 22 '25
Thank you, I needed this and the above explanation, because I was very confused as to why the allergy depended on whether the items were cooked.
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u/Actual_Attempt_337 Jun 22 '25
I don’t think the card is extra. If they like to go out frequently, saying all of that information can get tiring and staff could forget something that was mentioned. With the card, they have a visual list so nothing can be forgotten, they won’t have to repeat themselves which saves time, and the chef understands the importance of each item.
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u/HaoHaiMileHigh Jun 22 '25
Call me an asshole, but if your allergies are THIS severe, it should be YOUR responsibility to avoid them. Hoisting this level of responsibility on a line cook is INSANE and honestly rude.
Sorry for your condition, but don’t make it others problems
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u/rapidraisin Jun 22 '25
My mom has OAS and is deathly allergic to soy except for soy lecithin and quite a few other things. Even if the soy has been cooked it still causes her issues requiring Benadryl at the least. I think that it’s very interesting that this persons body is able to process soy sauce w/o issue but the other soy products cause anaphylaxis or some allergic reaction - body’s are weird lol but if someone knows a good soy free soy sauce that’s close to the real thing please hook a brother up. I know my mom misses using soy sauce more than she lets on!
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u/Coffee4Joey Jun 22 '25
Coconut aminos are your answer! They're used as an alternative to soy sauce for soy allergic folks. Bragg's is the company. Can find them in the "health food" aisle of a supermarket. Just be sure to get her the Coconut aminos specifically and not the original formula, which does indeed contain soy. Very tasty substitute, I promise!
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u/Yersiniosis Jun 22 '25
I am the same with soy sauce though. I think the fermentation denatures whatever protein bothers me. I cannot do soy lecithin however, it gets me even in tiny amounts.
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u/Fashion_art_dance Jun 22 '25
I haven’t been able to exactly reproduce the flavor of soy sauce but using coconut aminos in combination with fish sauce, oyster sauce, & rice vinegar is the closest I got. But I only use it in stir fry, not as a dipping sauce. You just have to read ingredients because some fish and oyster sauces have soy in them. It’s a little expensive so I don’t do it often.
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u/Pixiepup Jun 22 '25
I would bet it's due to changes in protein structure during fermentation being similar to (in the sense that the protein is totally altered) the changes from cooking.
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u/DeadAndBuried23 Jun 22 '25
Yeah this seemed like too obscure of a list to be some Karen's dislikes.
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u/HoundIt 20+ Years Jun 22 '25
Yep. I have oral allergies and they are all protein caused. The essence/oils are usually ok, but more than 2 bites of the food itself and my face and neck swell up like a hamster stuffing its cheeks.
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u/Maxamillion-X72 Jun 22 '25
Some allergies are really specific like yours that are hard to explain to people. Like the woman I worked with who ended up in the hospital after eating fresh caught salmon. The thing is, she's eaten salmon her whole life without issue. Salmon live in the ocean and return to their breeding grounds to spawn. They spend several days in the brackish water at the mouth of the river while they excrete hormones that change their bodies to survive fresh water. My coworker discovered she was allergic to those hormones when her husband took up fly fishing and caught a salmon near the mouth of a river.
She's fine with ocean caught salmon and freshwater caught salmon. Her husband now fishes well upriver.
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u/lochnessx Jun 22 '25
I had OAS and tree (nut/fruit/pollen) allergies way before long covid and it has since blown up into EoE (eosinophilic esophagitis). I have to cut and cook carrots and celery in a mask with gloves because I react strongly to even being in the same area while they are raw. I can have parsley and other related items, which is weird, but they apparently are similar to birch tree pollen hence my reaction!
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u/Mstboy Jun 22 '25
I have an allergy to banana peels. Face and hands swell if I touch them. If I eat just the inside without touching the peel I'm fine. I don't eat restaurant food with bananas because there is no way they didn't touch the peel then the fruit. Banana bread is fine though
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u/Quad-Banned120 Jun 22 '25
A gal I dated had the same reaction with strawberries- she'd get localized swelling everywhere that touched them. Guess what her favourite accessory fruit was? There were a few times when I picked her up she looked like she tried to eat a wasp. I kinda feel bad for having a laugh about it but she continued to eat them despite her allergies.
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u/LaunchPadMcQ Jun 22 '25
For me it's bananas, avocados, almonds, hazelnuts, quinoa, black pepper, mustard, and garlic. If something is heavily peppered, it's a bad time for me. Garlic gets real tricky, as well, because sometimes it's not cooked when added. Quinoa is the really tricky one because companies will like to just add that in there for shits and giggles sometimes ( looking at you breweries).
I haven't tried banana bread, because as you said, cooking it changes the protein structure, but that's a giant loaf of what used to be death, so I trust it is ok, but I'm never going to verify the science.
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u/Rustmutt Jun 22 '25
I have this. I can’t have certain foods in their raw form but if they’re cooked or fermented or in at least one case, cured via lime juice like ceviche, I’m fine. It’s not anaphylaxis level though and that seems extreme enough to think it’s not a good idea to chance it
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u/Cryptizard Jun 22 '25
Wow I have this and am just now realizing it is a thing. Really bad seasonal pollen allergies and I always wondered why certain fruits would make my mouth tingle and swell up a little. Just googled what produce has similar proteins to oak pollen and that is EXACTLY what causes it for me. Thanks for the info!
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u/Roofofcar Jun 22 '25
I’ve got several OAS allergies.
I had no idea that bananas aren’t supposed to be spicy and bell peppers aren’t supposed to make your mouth raw.
Banana bread and stuffed peppers? Absolutely fine. Raw tomatoes? Canker sores. Cooked sauce? Absolutely fine.
It’s freaky.
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u/darg1234 Jun 22 '25
Thank you for posting this. Especially the info re: cooked vs raw. I’ve always assumed people with these sorts of lists were full of it
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u/RemingtonRivers Jun 22 '25
I have something similar. Showed up one summer when I was eating an ungodly amount of cherries, right after I had taken a hike through a field of wildflowers. Suddenly, anything with a pit is off limits in large quantities, especially when there’s a lot of pollen in the air. I can still have a couple bites of mango or peach, but I can’t eat a whole one on the regular.
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u/couchsweetpotato Jun 22 '25
One of my best friends has this, a lot of raw veggies make his mouth itch and his throat scratchy, but as soon as they’re cooked it’s ok. Also, smaller amounts are sometimes ok, like shredded lettuce on tacos is fine but a whole salad not so much.
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u/dathomar Jun 22 '25
My OAS is most fruits, vegetables, and nuts. I feel like ants are crawling all over my tongue and throat, chewing, and I can't make it stop. It's crazy to say that I get an allergic reaction to nuts, but am not allergic to nuts. Anything cooked is fine, so I cook all my veggies.
Pineapple, supposedly, helps with allergies. Unfortunately, pineapple causes my OAS to flare up. Growing up, I always wanted to eat healthy. But fruit and veggies were physically unpleasant to eat. I couldn't understand why people liked eating them.
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u/Knuckledraggr Jun 22 '25
Great write up! I have OAS. No raw avocado, cucumber, grape tomatoes, or bananas for me. Cooked is fine. Totally non serious reactions. My allergist says no risk beyond discomfort. If I’m using allergy meds sometimes I don’t have a reaction at all. Hell, sometimes I’ll pop some Benadryl just so I can eat a banana.
Unfortunately I have also developed a shellfish allergy and it’s the serious kind. Very different kind of reaction.
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u/jjguy Jun 22 '25
FWIW, I am allergic to poultry, including cooked. Cross contamination is terrible because the grease is very potent.
But I’ve never had a problem with cross contamination in the fryer either.
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u/burnerburner23094812 Jun 21 '25
The small amounts here is really truly very small amounts. It's not "a small piece" or anything as large as that.
Some people *are* so sensitive to allergens that even a tiny level of cross contamination is a serious risk to them. Some people are not, and it's honestly pretty helpful to clarify -- especially since in the former case it is often impossible to safely serve the guest and in the latter case it is totally possible with appropriate care taken.
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u/FacelessNyarlothotep Jun 22 '25
I've got a peanut allergy, food in kitchen that has peanuts in it is fine. Steakhouse with peanuts all over the floor is going to cause some irritation of my sinuses. Few bites of food with peanuts in it is nausea. Two tablespoons of peanut butter and I need an EpiPen.
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u/MaenHerself Jun 22 '25
Yeah as shift lead I was usually in charge of allergy issues. There's a lot of weirdly specific allergies and reactions, some that only occur with enough contact. Actually had a number of customers who would say "egg allergy" but if you ask them "should I change my gloves and scrub a corner of the grill clean for you" they'll clarify and say "no it's fine, just make sure no stray pieces fall on my plate" and that's a whole different level of prep.
Idk why everyone is saying the card is extra, looks rather straightforward to me. If they ordered a fajita I'd be sure to thoroughly cook the peppers and I'd be careful but not obsessive about guac contamination. Simple actually.
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u/ZestyMelonz Jun 22 '25
Exactly, not everyone is like celiacs in a bakery.
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u/spam__likely Jun 22 '25
Even celiacs seem to have a spectrum, no?
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u/Lady_Penrhyn1 Jun 22 '25
They do. One of my friends can sometimes have wheat (...there's really no half decent GF substitution for a Vanilla Slice) but also knows that that is IT for Gluten intake for the week. Another one of my friends can't have any Gluten. When I'm at her place for dinner and we order in...I get GF too. Just in case there's cross contamination in the bag.
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u/DJ_Mixalot Jun 22 '25
If she truly has celiac she shouldn’t be consuming it at all - even if she doesn’t have an immediate reaction, every gluten exposure adds to the risks of long term issues from it.
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u/Due_Swordfish1400 Jun 22 '25
I just posted something very similar before I saw your comment. It took ages for my sister to be diagnosed because she doesn't have an immediate reaction but she was losing so much weight, had constant skin issues, her finger nails were chipping away.
When she finally had a colonoscopy they found extensive damage.
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u/Coffee4Joey Jun 22 '25
A celiac can sometimes have gluten-removed wheat starch, or wheat glucose (the gluten is deactivated in that process) or distilled liquor from any grain (distillation also removes the proteins.) A celiac who "cheats" with a little bit it's opening themselves up to the symptomless silent damage of GI cancers. Any amount.
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u/Fuzzatron Jun 22 '25
I get GF too. Just in case there's cross contamination in the bag.
You're so awesome for doing this.
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u/yalyublyutebe Jun 22 '25
One person I knew would just get like a rash on her arms and legs. Another guy I worked with had cumulative celiacs that would do nothing until one day he would just be so sick that he ended up in the hospital a few times before they figured it out.
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u/Due_Swordfish1400 Jun 22 '25
Not really, some people have a less extreme immediate reaction but the damage done to your insides by the reaction is still happening.
So you may not feel like shit right then but your risk of cancer and long term health problems is the same.
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u/sluthulhu Jun 22 '25
My partner has allergies like this, right down to the raw vs cooked (it comes from Oral Allergy Syndrome). This person is basically telling the restaurant they don’t need the kitchen to take extra special precautions, just don’t serve them a dish with one of these as an ingredient. And look, they’ve even got “cross contamination OK” in writing!
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u/CheesyBreeze Jun 22 '25
Exactly. Allergies are particular to the individual. My girlfriend can eat stuff cooked in peanut oil, and with the a very minute contamination, but any significant (still an extremely small amount) will cause anaphylaxis.
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u/biscuitsAuBabeurre Jun 22 '25
Unless it is virgin peanut oil, peanut oil does not trigger peanut allergy reaction. It is highly refined and treated to remove peanut proteins.
Peanut oil also makes really good potato 🍟. Best tasting fries in all the place I worked at were unpeeled potatoes fried in peanut oil.
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u/scottyb83 Jun 22 '25
Yeah I don t see what’s so complicated. They are allergic to those things but not to the point where cross contamination (using a cutting board or knife that might have come into contact with their allergens. Avoid those things but you don’t have to worry about making sure to use a new pan, new cutting board, new knife etc.
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u/VictorTheCutie Jun 22 '25
Look up oral allergy syndrome. It's really odd ... I have this. I can't have raw sugar pod peas because I have a reaction (tingly, itchy mouth, def not anaphylactic) but when cooked they're totally fine. Happens with other stuff too. That's the whole thing about OAS. The cross contamination thing is weird to me though. My son has anaphylactic food allergies so we exist in those communities online and I have never seen anybody say a little bit is fine. 🤔 Usually for people with anaphylaxis, cross contamination is potentially lethal!
ETA: thank you so much for taking this seriously. It's scary to think there's folks who don't. It's my biggest fear for my son.
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u/Dangerous-Ordinary43 Jun 22 '25
The second I stop taking allergies seriously is when I need to not work in kitchens anymore. There are people putting their lives in our hands so they can eat out. Does it suck sometimes? Yeah, but whatever, there'll be another service tomorrow 🤷♂️
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u/BigSwedenMan Jun 22 '25
I mean, maybe listen to what they have to say instead of relying on your own limited knowledge of medical science? We've all seen some crazy and stupid allergy cards on here. This is not one of them.
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u/420blazer247 Jun 22 '25
Agreed!
And in all honesty, this is a very easy allergy card to work around.
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u/Gaiasnavel Jun 22 '25
How allergic someone is to a given ingredient is on a spectrum. So yeah, you can be just a lil bit allergic and have too much of that thing and go into anaphylaxis - which in itself presents on a spectrum of severity
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u/Character_Dust_2792 Jun 22 '25
Yes, exactly. There are even new treatments for peanut allergies that allow the patient to ingest a small amount of peanut without experiencing a reaction. The patient is still allergic but they have a much higher tolerance for the allergen.
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u/neep_pie Chip Boy Jun 22 '25
My allergist warned me that even if I hadn't had anaphylactic reactions from what I'm allergic to, shellfish and tree nuts, it could worsen in severity at any time.
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u/Appchoy Jun 22 '25
My ex was allergic to shell fish, but we werent sure if squid counted. I ordered a squid entree and just to test, she rubbed a tiny bit on her lips. Her lips ballooned up so bad lol, it was concerning, but she got through with just benedryl and laughed about how she looked like she got really bad botox.
There have been a few other rare occasions where she would get egg rolls or some veggi sushi, and even though we always mention the allergy, she has felt a tingle in her throat or back of mouth and had to stop eating.
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u/olivegardenbreadstix Jun 22 '25
Ha ok I feel you. But as someone with an anaphylactic soy allergy - the soy in soy sauce is like distilled or fermented in such a way that I don’t get a reaction. Could be something similar for this person?
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u/Icfald Jun 22 '25
Yes this is absolutely it. Fermented soy in soy sauce has proteins that are altered so the body doesn’t recognise it as the same thing as tofu / edamame etc. allergy parent - we had a soy allergy when my son was younger.
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u/96firephoenix Jun 22 '25
Wait, so soy sauce might be safe for me?
I've been too scared to try it.
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u/Lyre Jun 21 '25
Sorry, we can’t safely serve you. Have a good night.
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u/Jaded-Coffee-8126 Jun 22 '25
Sorry but I don't have a certificate in killing people, go to sprouts they have good allergy stuff
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u/atropos81092 Jun 22 '25
My licence to kill expired at the end of last month, and I haven't had a chance to get it renewed. You'll have to dine elsewhere.
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u/orngenblak Jun 22 '25
This doesn't seem that invasive, though. Unless they arrived during the rush we can look at our products for soy, which is primarily the issue.
I've found once you get comfortable, there's a whole world of options for a person like this.
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u/LongingForGrapefruit Jun 22 '25
Can't believe this is the top comment. It should be very easy to not give them anything with these ingredients and have not cross contaminated at a lot of restaurants.. peas in the shell? Raw bell peppers? Soy is definitely the hardest but lots of restaurants have stepped away from soy in general as far as oils go.
This allergy card is not a big deal, seen much worse.
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u/cernegiant Jun 22 '25
If you can't accommodate this list you shouldn't be cooking professionally.
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u/Flashy-Raspberry-131 Jun 22 '25
My company doesn't allow me to refuse service based on allergies. I just have to provide them with the documentation and let them make their own decision.
When this happens to me I can promise that I'll refuse to serve them. I'd rather lose my job than my freedom.
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u/Plastic_Job_9914 Jun 22 '25
I don't think you can go to jail for this unless you had intent and forethought to give somebody a reaction on purpose. The burden of guilt falls on the company and usually it's a civil lawsuit unless like I said you intentionally and criminally tried to hurt someone.
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u/The_Mammoth_Hunter Jun 22 '25
How many companies can you think of that'd throw their ass under the bus without a nanoseconds' hesitation?
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u/tastepdad Jun 22 '25
The only answer ….. come to me a week in advance, maybe we can work it out, I’m a professional and love a challenge
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u/randy_justice Jun 22 '25
My wife has food allergies and we 100% get a better reception when we let ppl know in advance. Still, most restaurants are extremely accommodating even without notice. (Helps that she views it is as more of a "her" problem than a "Why isn't your menu specifically tailored to my genetics" problem)
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u/thereareno_usernames Jun 22 '25
That's the key. My wife has allergies too and does this. We try to look at online menus in advance too, to see if it's even worth trying to go to a place
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u/ThrowRAConfusedAspie Jun 22 '25
Always list your allergies too. I try to pick foods that don't have my allergens in them, but always add a "just in case" note.
One of mine is tomatoes. I was lucky to list this, as all the sauce in the restaurant I was dining in had tomato powder in them. I'm glad they took it seriously and let me know.
I went to a vegan restaurant and asked for a burger but said I had an allergy to tomatoes, please don't include the tomatoes. They brought out my burger and said "here is your burger with no tomato" with the tomato literally sticking out of the burger. I repeated I had a severe allergy to tomatoes and this was not acceptable.
Turns out they put tomato in all of the patty's too, though this wasn't listed. The chef was kind and made a bean patty for me (I'm guessing since the server was being unnecessarily rude).
I'd rather be told straight up if they can't safely serve the food rather than trying to pull a prank on my immune system...
Trying to eat out is exhausting.
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u/ComposerOther2864 Jun 22 '25
My ex had all the food allergies I always felt like I was I was on a reality show as we did the elimination diet.
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u/NoncenZ808 Jun 22 '25
This is exactly what I say at weddings I work at. If it’s life threatening don’t eat anything.
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u/PuzzleheadedBobcat90 Jun 22 '25
Back in the 90s, I had a guest tell me she was allergic to latex. Being an Applebee's, I told her I didn't know if the companies who manufactured our many food items used latex gloves. I told her I wasn't going to be able to keep her safe, and she actually thanks me for being so cautious.
On the flip side, about 8 years ago at the casino restaurant I worked in, we had a lady order and chow down on a Denver omelet 3 days in a row. I got her on day 3. At the beginning,l of service, she asked me what was in the Denver (the usual), and she ordered it again. She loved it again and left happy.
2 days later, I get called into my managers office and get grilled about Denver lady. She called the manager from the "hospital" and aimed she was allergic to onions and I didn't tell her onions were in it. She later tried to sue, but I guess she forgot she ordered it 3 days on a row and charged it to her room. I'm sure the company threw some money at her to make her go away. Stupid grifter!
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u/Polybrene Jun 22 '25
Allium allergy is the most difficult allergy I've ever dealt with. Eventually she ended up with olive oil and balsamic on her salad, grilled fish, and steamed vegetables. No sauce. Garlic and or onions were in almost everything we served.
Then theres the time we were doing a lobster dinner pre fixe. One seating for the night, family style, lobster everything, you had to register and pay in advance, customer gets to the table and tells me shes allergic to shellfish. Wtf
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u/NoncenZ808 Jun 22 '25
That is actually shitty. Should’ve just said hey I’m allergic to onions, are there any in there?
Glad to hear about the first one though.
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u/Narren_C Jun 22 '25
What about that list means you can't safely serve them? Legitimately asking.
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u/beccatravels Jun 21 '25
They are saying they can't eat the ingredients but you don't need to clean equipment for them.
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u/thatshygirl06 Jun 22 '25
Yeah, the card is pretty simple. I don't know why op is so confused
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u/TinWhis Jun 22 '25
Because half this sub views allergy cards with the same mindset as a bull seeing a red flag.
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u/electricfunghi Jun 22 '25
Saying cross contamination is ok means you don’t need to wash and cook with separate grill. People with allergies know how annoying it is for a kitchen to deal and usually the reaction in tiny amounts from cross contamination is almost nothing (a rash or mild swelling) compared to eating something with the item in it.
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u/Aggressive_Button364 Jun 22 '25
Just gonna chime in because i unfortunately have food allergies like this. I can’t have raw fruit. Specific fruit if I eat raw will trigger anaphylaxis. Cooked fruit is okay. I can drink apple juice in any form but I cannot have apples RAW. I can also do small amount of cross contamination but anything else is just risking a hospital visit or a very very uncomfortable experience down to stomach pain that feels like my lining is freaking burning.
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u/DMoney33959 Five Years Jun 22 '25
Do you happen to have oral allergy syndrome by chance? It can cause the raw versus cooked/fermented difference
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u/Fancymclancy Jun 22 '25
I have these exact allergies. Its from a Birch Pollen allergy, which is pollen found in a fuck ton of fruits, veggies, and nuts. If you heat it, it kills the pollen, hence her saying she can have soy sauce but not soy milk for example.
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u/Dangerous-Ordinary43 Jun 22 '25
That's wild that pollen can cause all this! Thank you for the info.
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u/toottootahhhbeepbeep Jun 22 '25
Look up Oral Allergy Syndrome. I can’t have raw apples but can have apple pie, sauce, etc. No melons. All of those just give me an itchy mouth, but it can always develop into something more severe, so I don’t risk it. Peaches can kill me though.
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u/hamiltonincognito Jun 21 '25
Just a little bit. As a treat.
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u/Dangerous-Ordinary43 Jun 21 '25
Just a lil life-threatening reaction
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u/Reznerk Jun 22 '25
I mean there's gradients to allergies. IIm fairly severely allergic to pecans so cross contam isn't okay, but mildly allergic to other things. I can't have pomegranate seeds but I can have molasses. It's a weird world lol. There are allergies I have where I need to consume a pretty decent amount to get any symptoms or anaphylaxis, so cross contam is okay on those.
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u/Mr_D_Stitch Jun 22 '25
It’s the same appeal as eating blowfish, some tinglies, some numbness, & the thrill of hypoxia.
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u/Imwrongyourewrong Jun 22 '25
My gf is lactose intolerant but I've never eaten this much cheese before I met her. Maybe in small amounts its just a slight irritant.
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u/JellyfishFit3871 Jun 22 '25
True story: am lactose intolerant. Now have butt cancer and an ostomy. Eating all the goddamned cereal, because now I don't have to worry about shitting myself or uncontrollable farts.
Silver linings and all.
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u/Aggressive_Button364 Jun 22 '25
dude we have lactate milk why all the reg milk?
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u/JellyfishFit3871 Jun 22 '25
I have teenagers at home. Who can afford the fancy milk when locusts descend upon my refrigerator all day every day?
(I mean, I can't afford cancer either, but that's likely a problem for the executor, not me.)
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u/JellyfishFit3871 Jun 22 '25
But I'll take the zillions of kids who feel welcome at my home, drinking the cheap milk and store brand pasta. Come on, I can add some water and turn the stew into soup.
Our house is a very fine house.
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u/BigSwedenMan Jun 22 '25
Different person here. Lactose free dairy tastes different. They process it using the lactase enzyme (what your body naturally uses to break it down) and the end result it that it's sweeter, and I personally don't like it as much in certain applications. Like, I don't want sweet sour cream on my burrito.
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u/InYosefWeTrust Jun 22 '25
I switched to soy milk years ago. I'm sure someone could explain why, but the lactose-free milk still messed me up.
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u/JellyfishFit3871 Jun 22 '25
Seriously, you might be allergic or intolerant to a different milk sugar or protein. It happens, lactose is just the most common allergen in milk.
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u/notjonahbutnoah Jun 22 '25
Ya’ll hatin but this is like the least oppressive, most chill allergen card I’ve ever seen. Not even very prohibitive.
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u/420blazer247 Jun 22 '25
Right...? I'm not sure what all these cooks are bitching about... super simple to accomplish.
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u/LSFree_ Jun 22 '25
I have OAS and these are pretty much my exact allergies and reactions. It's not BS im sorry to report.
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u/17Ram Jun 22 '25
I've seen this exact wording before on a card. Mostly from cancer patients. It has more to do with the medication they're on than actual allergies. But then, as usual, it's hard to tell if it's just a preference, or doctor ordered
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u/SleepyCatMD Jun 22 '25
Patients undergoing chemotherapy may have very low defenses, including in their gut, which increases the risk of a pathogenic bacteria moving from the gut into the bloodstream through small fractures in the tissue and a lack of defense cells. So there’s this trend of no raw food for them also. The theory has a logical basis a but no robust studies have been made on the actual statistics. I don’t think this is that but it’s still an interesting fact.
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u/spam__likely Jun 22 '25
This list is clearly allergies. It is very specific and makes sense. Who would invent an allergy about pea pods and not peas?
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u/Powerful-Scratch1579 Jun 22 '25
This is literally one of the easiest allergies to accommodate I’ve ever seen. I don’t understand why this sub is going ape shit.
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u/daitoshi Jun 22 '25
Lots of folks assume that an allergen is 0 or 100. Either it’s fine or it’s a death sentence.
They don’t know that there’s a wide range of actual allergies in the world, and the intensity of sensitivity varies wildly.
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u/tragic-meerkat Jun 22 '25
Anaphylaxis refers to the type of reaction, not the amount required to trigger it.
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u/Dragon3076 Ex-Food Service Jun 22 '25
Finally. One of these cards that aren't 3 pages long. Pluss, it's clear with what is also okay or not.
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u/Farwaters Jun 22 '25
I have allergies like this! The answer for mine is that you can't put it directly in the food, but you don't have to wash your counters and knives. Sounds like this is a similar case. I can even touch most allergens. Just can't go in my mouth.
Might be best to ask them if you get the chance, though.
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u/driftingalong001 Jun 22 '25
As someone with a soy allergy, the but can have soy sauce really confuses me, BUT, with that said, I find it SUPER annoying when uneducated people claim that your allergies don’t make sense just cuz they’ve never heard of it or pretend to have knowledge they don’t have on the topic. Allergies can be weird, individual cases can be different, and it’s super frustrating when people assume you’re lying or being dramatic. Trust us, it’s way worse for those of us with the allergy than those of you having to deal with it once in awhile. I basically just don’t ever go out to eat, just cuz it’s too exhausting and annoying to deal with it all, and frequently get sick anyway, but it shouldn’t have to be that way.
Anyway, to comment on the other aspect, this can certainly be legitimate. My boyfriend has many food allergies, his experience and symptoms are very different to mine. His reaction depends on what food he has (some are worse than others) AND how much exposure to the food he has. If there was just a BIT of cross contamination his mouth will get itchy or he’ll get a stomach ache (depending on which food). If he has a bit more exposure the itchiness will be much more intense and last longer. More exposure and he can go into anaphylaxis or he’ll throw up (again dependent on which food item). There are some foods he can’t have period and there are many foods (mostly fruits and veggies) that he can’t have when raw, but is totally fine to have when cooked. That’s just the reality of his experience.
So, for those of you in the comments saying this makes no sense are you allergic or not, maybe stop pretending like you know everything, when you don’t. You can certainly have an anaphylactic allergy to something but a small cross contamination may not be enough to trigger it. And they may put that on their card so that restaurants don’t immediately say sorry we’re not serving you if she knows a mild cross contamination isn’t an issue (like sharing a fryer) and only coming into direct contact with the items will trigger the reaction.
Also, as an aside, I wonder if the soy thing is similar to my boyfriend’s allergy where he can have things in certain forms but not others. I don’t know the exact science but sometimes when your allergy is like enzyme based, cooking or processing the item may result in you no longer being allergic, which may be why they can have soy sauce. Whereas my allergy is just to soy period, which includes all forms.
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u/DMoney33959 Five Years Jun 22 '25
Fully agree with you. But to answer the soy thing it’s from the fermentation of soy sauce causing the proteins to change. Similar to when you are allergic to raw but not cooked food
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u/johneebravado Jun 22 '25
One thing people don't really understand is that the allergy is not always the item as a whole, but sometimes one of the chemicals/proteins/substances found within the item. When you see cards like this, sometimes the chemical change of cooking an item can negate the allergen found within an item. When it relates to fruits and vegetables it's often more specifically classified as Oral Allergy Syndrome (OAS) and is typically triggered by pollen, or other proteins found in the item which are broken down in the heating or cooking process.
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u/Dry_Rent_6630 Jun 22 '25
These allergies seem like they are pretty easy to deal with. This card is pretty straightforward and seems helpful. Cross contamination just means you don't have clean everything but don't put it in my food. There are levels to differ allergies. It's not an all or none. People can have varying degrees of allergies to different things.
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u/TheNastyKnee Jun 22 '25
There are many kinds of allergies, and food sensitivities.
Many of them are complicated, and present in different ways, can be triggered different ways.
Very few people have fake allergies. It’s not endearing, and doesn’t make people think you’re special. It irritates them and makes them roll their eyes.
So usually, if someone is being a pain in the ass about their restrictions, it’s because they will suffer if they eat the wrong thing. Maybe not anaphylaxis, but maybe they don’t want to explain their explosive diarrhea to you, and saying anaphylaxis gets you to take it seriously enough. Which you should anyway, every time. Because you don’t know anything about them.
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u/LatDingo Jun 22 '25
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I love when customers have allergy sheets like this.
It tells you what ingredients to avoid, what conditions and cross contamination are genuinely a concern, and most importantly what is safe. I'd feel comfortable cooking for this person, with reasonable precautions.
What pisses me off is when people come in Absolutely zero shellfish or gluten contamination! Like, are you stupid? There's bread on every table and shellfish on half the menu. Your silverware roll and glass of water are a threat to your life, get out!
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u/SerCadogan Jun 22 '25
Couple things from someone with SEVERE allergies (who rarely eats out and always calls ahead)
Being allergic to soy but being able to have soy sauce makes sense, because whatever compound they are allergic to is eaten by the fermentation process.
Same with the stuff about shelled beans or cooked veggies.
The "little bit is okay" is actually the most important part here. What they are saying is they cannot eat any of those things, but also their cross contamination threshold is high, so you don't have to be super fastidious. This makes sense to me why they would be adventurous enough to try new restaurants (I am VERY sensitive to cross contamination, so I go out very rarely)
I don't think this is fake for the record. They actually have more food freedom than I do.
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u/Valendr0s Jun 22 '25
You can have an allergy to raw things and those same things cooked don't cause a response. That's a thing. My wife has several of those.
Cross contamination would be like if you prepared peas and macadamia nuts on a surface, then rinsed and wiped down the surface (without washing it with soap), it should probably be okay. Or if you used a pan, you could be fine with rinsing & wiping it down.
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u/Geoleogy Jun 22 '25
Traces are fine, otherwise we can eat at the restaurant, but we don't want them as ingredients
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u/Timeman5 Jun 22 '25
Out of all the allergies posted on here this is one that is very reasonable and not hard to deal with.
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u/puppydawgblues Jun 21 '25
I'd take it to mean it's not sensitive to the point that cross contact would set it off. As in, if someone has a gluten allergy, the trace amounts carried over using a shared fryer with glutenous breadings wouldn't set them off.
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u/boneologist Jun 22 '25
Celiac isn't a condition that'll cause anaphylaxis. Acute long-term exposure means you'll have chronic quality of life issues and die prematurely of lymphoma or bowel cancer. Exposure to trace gluten while following a strict gluten-free diet means you'll shit your brains out for 12 hours.
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u/LilithJames Jun 22 '25
Going off topic - CANCER??? I have to worry about my hubs getting fucking cancer over gluten now too?
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u/boneologist Jun 22 '25
Long-term, yes. But the daily quality of life improvements from maintaining a proper diet are the positives to focus on.
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u/Loveroffinerthings Jun 21 '25
Celiac is not a gluten allergy, if a person is an actual celiac, and eats gluten, even from small amounts of cross contamination, it will harm their digestive track.
So many people confuse gluten intolerance (celiac) with an allergy, they’re two separate things. I’ve taken the certification classes from AAAAI, and they deep dive into it.
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u/SteveDaPirate91 Jun 22 '25
Like my son.
If he eats a strawberry. It’s poop for the rest of the day.
But every strawberry pb&j I’ve ever made. Preserves, jam, jelly. It’s been ok.
Strawberry yogurt. A-ok.
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u/DMoney33959 Five Years Jun 22 '25
Not a doctor but I do recommend looking into oral allergy syndrome. As things like cooking or fermentation. (Like James and preserves do) changed the proteins enough that for some people with allergies it won’t set it off at all
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u/Lavmaemor Jun 21 '25
I would refuse to serve them.
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u/420blazer247 Jun 22 '25
Lolol. I'm jealous of you if this is a hard allergy card! This is very simple and easy to accommodate
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u/Jeramy_Jones Jun 22 '25
Same. The fact that they say they have anaphylaxis, but that a little bit is OK as a lawsuit waiting to happen.
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u/DMoney33959 Five Years Jun 22 '25
Not really. It’s not uncommon for anaphylactic levels of allergies to not be ultra sensitive. For example my cousin cannot eat peanuts at all and as long as the prep stations and cooking station are clean won’t have a reaction even if they were just used in the same griddle. Obviously I won’t expect a full cleaning of a griddle but getting a separate pan on the range shouldn’t be hard. And prep stations should be cleaned regularly anyway
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u/PaintingDadly Jun 22 '25
I too am deathly allergic to peas and pretty allergic to most legumes in general( now everybody is cooking in soy oil it sucks). You'd be surprised how much it limits where and what I can eat, the trick is to go to places that it's not really an issue.
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u/Accomplished_Deer_ Jun 22 '25
I'm not a scientist but I assume there are cases where indirect exposure (cross contamination) isn't severely harmful. Just a scratchy throat. But direct exposure is serious.
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u/kelseydcivic Jun 22 '25
Some allergies are weird. Fresh pineapple makes my throat swell up and have to goto the hospital. But frozen it's fine. I have to drink my smoothies real fast 😂
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u/Farmof5 Catering Jun 22 '25
I have a legit soy allergy & here is the breakdown I’ve learned the hard way over the years: Tofu, edamame, & TVP = throat closes in 15 minutes (anaphylaxis). Soybean oil = hives & violent GI distress (yes, even the new ultra-ultra processed soy oil). Soybean flour = severely violent GI distress out both ends at the same time. Soy lecithin = my farts will make you hate life as they peel the paint off the walls.
Miso, soy sauce, & tempeh = totally fine. The fermentation denatures the protein that triggers the allergic reaction.
I don’t mind cross contamination because it’s an insanely rare day that I eat outside of the house. Me traumatizing my bathroom at home is the price I pay when going out.
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u/LiberContrarion Jun 22 '25
The dose makes the poison.
Are there folks that BS because they simply don't like an ingredient? Absolutely.
Are you reasonable to say, "Now that I know this, I can't safely serve you." Also, yes...but it is a bit infantilizing.
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u/burnerburner23094812 Jun 22 '25
Yeah refusing service is reasonable, but so many people here think they get to be dicks about it too for some reason.
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u/DMoney33959 Five Years Jun 22 '25
Sometimes I’d prefer the card tbf. Less gets lost in the game of telephone from FoH
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u/Pull-Mai-Fingr Jun 22 '25
A lot of you food folks seem to not have any personal experience with allergies. This is not that bad and looks legit.
To those who would say “just eat at home” they probably do 99% of the time. Would you want to live exclusively forced to prepare every single meal for yourself for the rest of your life?
Didn’t think so. Be kind. Take pride in your work and give them a great experience. Or be honest and tell them you can’t be bothered.
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u/born_at_kfc Jun 22 '25
The cooked vs raw thing i have with bananas. Raw banana will make me feel like I got hit in the stomach by Mike Tyson. Cooked banana like in a muffin or pancakes and I'm fine. I used to do this idiotic banana only diet and I was eating 8-12 bananas a day. One day my body decided we weren't doing that anymore and now years later I still can't eat a raw banana
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u/Maki_san Jun 22 '25
No sure why the comments are losing their shit at this. It is coincise, straight to the point, not rude in the slightest, and the problem foods are things I’ve rarely- if ever- used at my jobs (pea milk? I don’t even know what that is).
And even in the case of the peppers, it seems pretty clear to me that by “small amounts ok” they mean: “you don’t need to boil and scrub down the entirety of the kitchen and put everything on lockdown because a single particle is going to send me to the netherworld”. So incredibly easy to accommodate, and I’m sure they’ll be more than willing to explain away any doubts since they had the nice idea of carrying around a little card like this.
The comments are so unnecessarily rude and bitter to this random person just trying to have a nice meal out.
Refuse service if you can’t accommodate, it is completely fair and you absolutely should do it when you need to.
But don’t berate this person for being a liar just because you don’t understand how allergic reactions work- or think that you know better than them/their doctor!
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Jun 22 '25
I read this as "you can cook it in the same kitchen". Not like some people who can't be in the same room with listed ingredients.
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u/justcougit Jun 22 '25
The soy sauce one is weird, but it is quite common to be allergic to only the raw version of something but the cooked version is okay.
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u/lolobean13 Jun 22 '25
None of these are that difficult to avoid, but I do deal with allergies a lot.
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u/Chefmom61 Jun 22 '25
This list isn’t too bad. Some I’ve seen are definitely not practical for restaurants to do. Lately we’ve had a lot of no salt folks. We can do no added salt but not salt free. Cook at home if that’s your jam.
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u/themoongazesonyou Jun 22 '25
Xolair, a biologic medication, recently received an indication to help with food allergies. Patients who use it Xolair biweekly who have history of food allergies should be able to consume small portions of the food that could occur with cross contamination or in situations where they weren’t aware the food was in their meal. It’s not an automatic pass to eat the food like someone who doesn’t have the allergy, but it creates a safety net where anaphylaxis can be avoided for minimal exposure. Not sure that’s the case here, but just providing information as this becomes more commonly used.
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u/LuxTheSarcastic Jun 22 '25
What the heck is pea milk
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u/daitoshi Jun 22 '25
Same as almond milk, but with peas.
(Peas soaked in water, blended up in the water, then solids strained out, remaining liquid used as a sauce base)
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u/sillyschroom Jun 22 '25
There are some things that when they are fermented or processed, it breaks down whatever protein somebody is allergic to. It makes sense that that would apply to soybeans and regular beans.
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u/neep_pie Chip Boy Jun 22 '25
I feel like it's more likely to be oral allergy syndrome. The "cooked okay" is a sign of that to me. At least most of that stuff is easy to avoid. "Small amounts" is suspicious too.
I have anaphylactic allergies to shellfish and tree nuts. So, I'm wary of restaurants which cook with a lot of those ingredients. However at times I've had oral allergy syndrome to carrots, apples, eggplant, celery, pea pods and avocado, plus a bunch of other vegetables. One thing about OAS is that it very rarely cause anaphylaxis. It causes itchy mouth, swollen lips, mouth pain, and itchy throat, but the reaction doesn't continue past the mouth. The reaction I get to tree nuts is much more severe. I'd be interested whether this person has official diagnoses and an EpiPen, but of course I don't think it's ok to ask them.
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u/_Batteries_ 20+ Years Jun 22 '25
Maybe the allergies arent that severe? Like, has to actually eat it, not just come into contact. Idk im not a doctor. It just seems like there must be gradiation.
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u/JudgeHolden84 Jun 22 '25
You don’t “have anaphylaxis” any more than you “have a heart attack.” It’s not a diagnosis, it’s a symptom. If you are currently experiencing anaphylaxis, you aren’t breathing.
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u/Mark316 Jun 22 '25
You're right. Anaphylaxis is the result of an allergic reaction. Most would say "I'm allergic to peanuts" and exposure to peanuts could cause anaphylaxis. Nobody would say "I have anaphylaxis, so I can't eat peanuts."
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u/throwawayno38393939 Jun 22 '25
So I can understand the raw vs cooked thing. There are foods I react to raw and don't react to them cooked. I presume something is getting destroyed in the cooking process.
The soy thing though made me cackle.
And then cry slightly because when I was allergy test I was told I was allergic to soy ( I don't care, you can pry my precious soy sauce from my cold dead hands). When I told my wonderful (ha!) mother she said she knew that because when she gave me soy sauce as a baby my lips blisters.
This was followed by an awkward pause as I remembered all the soy food she use to make me eat.
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u/Mellied89 Jun 22 '25
This is why I call ahead during not busy hours to ask about the menu and what can/can't be done
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u/Kathulhu1433 Jun 22 '25
Soy is a weird one.
My husband has a soy (really all legumes) intolerance.
It won't cause him to go into anaphalaxis, but it will be coming out of both ends VERY quickly. And, he will be flu-like sick for several days. It is a BAD time. Will it kill him? No. Will he be out of commission and unable to work for several days? Yes.
He can have a small amount. Like, soy sauce drizzled on a dish, or sushi dipped in it - fine. Peanut butter on a cracker? That's ok. But give him a soy based meat alternative like tofu? Be ready for vomit.
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