Food Alleriges in DLRP

[jesshirecat]

Has anyone with food allergies visited DLRP and/or Paris? Any advice is much appreciated.

 

[bavaria]

You may want to cross post on the DLRP board if you have not done so.

What type of allergy? Do you speak/read French?

As someone who has worked in France and spent much of my life there as well as been at DLRP hundreds of days, I can offer some advice.

Food labelling varies; generally however I find the labels quite well marked in France. There is a very small Casino shop right outside the main park in the train station with some grocery items.

You must be very specific about what you must avoid and be clear on the risk of cross contamination. Disneyland Paris for instance considered fish 'vegetarian' and even marked fish dishes as such. The caesar salad with anchovies is marked as vegetarian.

In France the ingredients used can vary from in America. For those with peanut allergies for instance, I would suggest avoiding all baked goods. In France there is often lupine flour in baked goods, which can cause a reaction.

Also nut allergies in general are far less common in Europe than we read about in America, so quite often people are not as aware of the issue.

There is a sticky on the DLRP board which should have a contact number, or someone can direct you.

If you have a specific question please feel free to post and I can try and answer as best as I am able.

 

[bavaria]

Also if you are flying (sorry, I don't know where you are from!) from outside the EU and have an Epipen/Anapen you will want to ensure that you have documentation. Generally airport security is more thorough than in America and documentation is required (although usually not requested).

The Anapen site has a handy form for airline travel here http://www.anapen.de/AttestFlughafen.pdf

It may never be requested, but it is fairly simple to have this filled in and carry it with you, just in case.

I think that someone in past had some card written up in French detailing exactly the allergy, and what they required. Those would be useful if you don't speak French that well.

And not that you should hopefully ever need it, but you may want to have the key details written down in french in case of emergency. France uses the SAMU system as a first response system, and they are very quick at DLRP, but under stress you may forget the correct words even if you are fairly fluent in the language.

 

[jesshirecat]

Thank you Bavaria

A large part of my trepidation is that I don't speak French...at all. Luckily I have a French friend that I can email to translate my daughter's allergies ahead of time.

allergies: peanut, sesame, mustard, egg and even raw garlic (cooked is tolerated fine such as in pizza sauce)

Oh goodness, that is a good heads-up on the Epi-pen. I obviously need to get my act into gear regarding the food allergies. We'll be flying in from the US to London and more than likely taking Eurostar to Disney.

I'm thinking I might try to pack ALOT of food from the US. Here's to nutri-grain bars and apple sauce

 

[bavaria]

I will see if I can find you some specific information later and translate from French if need be.

I am often taking the Eurostar (since it is easy than flying most of the time - time and cost)

There is an M&S Simplyfood (Marks and Spencer food store) in St Pancras right across from the check in, and while it is a somewhat smaller version of their food halls it may be a good place to pick up some 'last minute' items as the labels will of course be in English. You may want to ask about food allergies on the UK community board as there are certainly posters there who can give you advice about which foods to purchase in England. They do a very good job of labelling and even mark things as safe for vegetarians and safe for vegans, which makes it easy for me.

Pret a Manger (a London/NY chain) http://www.pret.com/ does great fresh takeaway prepackaged food and it is labelled, and they are also at St Pancras. So is PAUL, the great French bakery chain, but I suspect that they may not have much if they are using the same flour they use in France. I don't honestly know but wouldn't risk it. If you go to www.paul.fr you can contact them via English language as they are in the UK as well, and I suppose ask if their French locations use lupin flour. I don't know if I would chance it but up to you.

There is also a Starbucks and a McDonalds in the Village (like Downtown Disney) so they may have more specific ingredient listings if all else fails. But the menus do vary by country so they won't necessarily have the same products and ingredients as in the American outlets.

Ben and Jerry's ice cream is in the parks, but Haagen Dazs has a location in the village at the entrance to the movie theatre. They have different flavours than in America, and I don't know if a sorbet would work? But that is something to think about if you are already familiar with alternative treats for ice cream.

The EU does have requirements as to certain allergens being listed, but if the list is in French, or the item is not packaged, it isn't as much help to you.

I also recall a question about food allergies over on flyertalk.com on the France board so I can take a quick look later and see if it has anything.

If you google lupin+France+allergies you may find some information in English (I seem to recall a BBC page from a few years ago) Whenever that question comes up I don't suggest items from the bakeries as they are usually not packaged, and as the lupin flour is added during the production phase to the wheat flour it may not be listed even if someone did take the time to go and check for you. Unfortunately that means avoiding some of the more tasty treats, but with egg allergies as well that would be out anyways.

Here is something as well to read, not that much but still some good information http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/624177

And this one talks about where to order the 'allergy cards' in French
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/620749

 

[bavaria]

If you are thinking of grocery shopping

In Paris

• there are chains like Casino, or Monoprix and the major department stores have food floors which are usually most convenient for tourists
• if you find a familiar food from 'home', don't assume that it is safe. Major food manufacturers such as Maggi, Knorr, Ferrero, Cadbury etc modify their product for country of sale. For instance I cannot eat Maggi or Knorr purchased in America, but the Maggi manufactured for India is just fine. Generally the foods in the EU have fewer additives than in America, and France is fairly good for not having too much nasty stuff in the food. But always check because the ingredients could well be different
• I like to recommend the cafeteria on the top floor of Galeries Lafayette department store because it has a wide range of items prepared freshly in house, and a spectacular view of the city. Since there is a large multi-lingual staff and food is freshly prepared inhouse you may find someone to assist you there. The food hall is at the neighbouring men's wear store, which you enter if you take the RER train from DLRP to Auber Station

Around Disneyland Resort Paris

• the petit Casino is at the train station at the exit nearest the parks, and has a very limited selection. Best place to buy cheaper drinks, and they are open early/late
• if you take the RER train one stop (the train closest to the park entrance/exit) you will reach the giant Val d'Europe shopping complex with a mall, restaurants, SeaLife Centre, outlet mall, and a large Auchan hypermarket
• Auchan has a vast food floor with some imported products as well. They also have a lot of food prepared inhouse ie bakery, meat counter, deli, prepared foods, etc

 

[bavaria]

Specific to the allergies you listed, I can think of a few 'hidden' things

• lupin flour, as I mentioned above
• fresh garlic is often used as a rub; I can think of ways that I use it ie to rub a bowl before preparing a salad, or to rub on bread. So you may want to ask the questions as to if any raw garlic is used in preparation, even if it isn't actually IN the dish
• mustard of course you know Dijon, but mustard seed is commonly used in Indian food for instance. There is quite a bit of middle Eastern foods in France including Cafe Agrabah in DLRP and the buffet at the Studios, so be aware of that for sesame seeds (none of that is probably any surprise to you)

About allergy labelling in the EU

From 25 November, the new rules, introduced by EC Directive 89/2003, will require pre-packed foods sold in the European Union to show clearly on the label if they contain any of 12 listed allergenic foods as an ingredient.

The new regulations also remove the current '25 per cent rule', which meant that the ingredients of a compound ingredient (for example, a sausage used as a topping for a pizza or a sponge finger used in a trifle) did not have to be declared if the compound ingredient made up less than 25 per cent of the final food.

There is general agreement between the food industry, consumer support groups and enforcement bodies, that excessive use of warning labels about the possible presence of allergens not only unnecessarily restricts consumer choice but also devalues the impact of the warnings.


Under the new rules, all ingredients will have to be listed on the label, even if they are part of a compound ingredient, or present in just tiny amounts.

http://www.foodqualitynews.com/Legislation/EU-strengthens-allergen-labelling

The 12 foods listed in the new rules are: peanuts; nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts); eggs; milk; crustaceans (including prawns, crabs and lobsters); fish; sesame seeds; cereals containing gluten (including wheat, rye, barley and oats); soya; celery; mustard; sulphur dioxide and sulphites (preservatives used in some foods and drinks) at levels above 10mg per kg or per litre.