One of the great pleasures of foreign travel is interacting with local people.  And a great way to gain an understanding of a culture is to share in the local cuisine.  Ordering food is easy.  Even if you don’t know the language, you can always point to an item on a restaurant menu or point to the actual food if you’re at a market.  But ordering food when you have food allergies or restrictions can be challenging.

Be prepared to communicate your needs to restaurant waiters, hotel managers, open air market vendors, grocery store clerks, street kiosk vendors, and transportation personnel.  Don’t be shy about asking questions and using your SelectWisely card.  Here are some general tips that we’ve gathered from personal experience and from speaking to other travelers.

• Stay healthy by eating right.
  
  
• If you’re buying packaged foods from a grocery store, show your SelectWisely card to the store clerk and ask them to check the product label.  Product labeling is not the same as in the United States so be cautious.
  
  
• Some countries use potentially allergic foods in their sauces and seasonings for flavoring and thickening.  Be careful in the following countries:
  
  
  • Spain uses ground almonds often to replace flour in cake baking.
    
    
  • A type of German beer is based on wheat (Weisse).
    
    
  • Japan and China use soy in their cooking broth.
    
    

  • Miso (soybeans and barley or wheat or rice) is a basic element in many Japanese soups, stews and braised dishes.
    
    

  • Peanuts are present in some types of Dim Sum (congee) and hot mustard greens in China.
    
    

  • Rice is sometimes mixed with barley or soybeans for flavor and nutrition in Korea.  And fish can be stirred into a common breakfast porridge.
    
    

  • Borscht (beet soup) can be thickened with barley in Russia.
    
    

  • Be wary of pastries in Argentina and Portugal that might contain almonds, almond paste or powder.
    
    

  • Cookies, chocolate candy and cakes often have peanuts or nuts in the United States so be especially careful of packaged foods.
    
    

• Drink only pasteurized milk.  Eat only pasteurized dairy products.
  
  

• In most major European cities you can safely drink water in restaurants.  However, if you want to be extra careful, drink bottled water or carbonated drinks in cans or bottles.  Make sure to check the seal on the cap to ensure that the bottle wasn’t already used and resealed.  Avoid fountain drinks.
  
  

• If you’re concerned about the drinking water, remember that ice cubes fall into this same category.
  
  

• Bring a small pocket knife and a fork.  This is especially important when traveling to regions that use chopsticks or no utensils at all like parts of East Asia.
  
  

• In countries where multiple languages are spoken as in China or India, be highly selective.  If you are traveling in remote areas, local people may not be able to read.  The international prohibitory sign and picture of the product on the SelectWisely card will help get your message across.
  
  

• Check your food after ordering.  Visually inspect it and confirm by using your SelectWisely card again.
  
  

• If you are highly toxic, prepare and eat only your own food.  Drink only sealed bottled water.
  
  

• Don’t eat raw meat, undercooked ground beef or poultry.  To be on the safe side, order your meats ‘well-done’.
  
  

• Carry snacks – fruit, packaged crackers, bottled water.
  
  

• If you purchase food from an open air market in remote areas, purchase thick skinned fruit that you can peal like bananas or mangos.  Stay away from foods that might be washed in local tap water.  Use you own knife to cut the fruit.
  
  

• Bring a package of antihistamines – like Benadryl.
  
  

When ordering or purchasing food, open your wallet or passport and pull out your SelectWisely card.  Show both sides of the card.  Point to the picture of the food with the international prohibitory sign.  Make sure they understand.