Sesame has been grown in the Middle East for thousands of years and is now commonly consumed world-wide in seeds, flour and paste form. It is found in tahini sauce and used in seed form on breads, bagels, cooking oils, cakes, candy - in salads and salad dressing - in Chinese dim sum - and the list goes on. Sesame as an ingredient varies by cultural diet so be aware of this when traveling.
I have returned from my trip to Bangkok. The strongly worded food allergy cards were amazing. First, I asked the waiter if peanuts or peanut oil were used in their recipes. They usually said no. When I showed the waiters the strongly worded card, they paused, went to check with the cook and/or manager, and usually suggested a particular meal to eat. At most Thai restaurants I stuck with dessert. One restaurant was extremely accommodating, cooking my food from scratch with freshly washed pots and utensils. The SelectWisely cards were a life-saver!
- Michelle in Georgia
Throughout my life, my severe food allergy to nuts have made me fearful to travel, particularly in countries where I don't speak the language. After reading my food allergy cards the waitstaff always went out of their way to make sure that all of my food was cooked and served without any contact with any of the foods that I am allergic to. We were still, of course, cautious when eating--we stayed away from food stalls and buffets, and we were always insistent that the waiter show the food allergy card to the cook. The cards proved to be one of the best purchases I have ever made.
- Marcia in Korea
I want to send you some feedback and thanks! We had a business/vacation trip to Germany in April, with our 2 year old who has peanut allergies. While we attempted to speak German when possible (we really don't know it), the food allergy cards were very handy. When the waiters didn't understand our German, we gave them the chef card and they easily helped us determine any peanut issues. Your cards allowed me to relax and feel confident that my child was eating safe foods in a country where I didn't know the language. Thanks so much!!
- Tracie in North Carolina
Just wanted to let you know your food allergy translation cards were great for travelling in Hong Kong and Thailand. With a severe MSG food allergy (plus other food allergies) I wondered about the wisdom of travelling to Asia, but I had two weeks away and not one food problem. The great benefit was being able to tell the waiter to show the chef the food allergy card. Often the waiter would say, "Can do - without" But I would insist they show the chef the card, then the waiter would come back with a different story. They were then very concerned and kept checking that I would only eat from the 'safe' dishes.
- Judy in Sydney, Australia
We wanted to let you know how grateful we were to have my husband's food allergies translated into Spanish and Italian. We used your Italian food allergy cards constantly on our trip, as there were numerous occasion when English was not spoken. They were also a tremendous 'ice-breaker'... in one friendly Italian restaurant, the waiter (after he read all of the allergies) threw up his hands, said 'vino' and brought a bottle of wine saying that's all he could have!
- Cathy in Ottawa, Canada
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