How to cope with… Dietary requirements

Published: 27/10/2011 - Filed under: Archive » 2011 » November 2011 » Special reports » Features » Archive » 2011 » November 2011 » Features » Special Reports »

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Business Traveller suggests solutions to common travel problems. This month: coping with dietary requirements on the road.

All too often, people with dietary requirements are treated as an inconvenience – especially in unfamiliar places. But even if your situation isn’t life or death, such as a potential allergic reaction, travelling should not force you to compromise your moral or religious beliefs, or cause you discomfort. Here’s how to get what you want on your plate.

Plan ahead

Make sure that your airline, hotel or whoever is putting together your itinerary is aware of your requirements. Bear in mind that not all airlines offer special food options, so check beforehand. Depending on the severity of your requirements, you may want to eat before you fly.

“Read up on your destination before you travel,” says Su Taylor, press officer for the Vegetarian Society. “Look at the cuisine available and familiarise yourself with the words for things such as ‘vegetarian’, ‘no’, ‘meat’, ‘chicken’, ‘pork’ and ‘fish’.” It’s worth learning a few key phrases that will convey a severe requirement – for example, “I will die if I eat this” is much more likely to get a reaction.

Be aware that in some countries, the concepts of vegetarianism and veganism don’t exist, so be as specific as possible. If your requirement is a lifestyle choice, it may be worth making a few exceptions to your usual habits – particularly if you have important client dinners where it is best not to make a scene.

Bring your medication

Pack any kit you’d need at home. “Travellers with allergies need the usual – an epinephrine auto-injector, a copy of their prescription, the medication packaging, and possibly a note from their allergist,” says Chris Weiss, vice-president of advocacy and government relations at the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. If necessary, get written instructions translated – prestigenetwork.com
and globalvoices.co.uk offer specialised medical translations.

Carry emergency rations

Stock up on non-perishable snacks that you can carry around. “Useful for veggies and vegans is a pot of peanut butter or meat-free paté – handy standbys if you can get some bread,” Taylor says. Vitamin supplements are advisable too. Gluten-free-living site celiactravel.com recommends “‘mood bars’ made from dried fruit, mixed nuts and raisins; pots of dried potato pieces with vegetables, rice noodles and stock powder or miso; and crackers”. These are also good for kosher and allergy-free dining.

Express your needs

Visual aids are a good idea if your language skills fail you. UK site dietarycard.com supplies credit-card-sized “alert cards” in 17 languages (£6 each), which can be personalised to explain your dietary requirements, while celiactravel.com offers free downloadable PDFs in 51 languages.

Apps for iPhones and iPads include Allergy Translator (£1.49, itunes.apple.com/gb), which allows you to express your needs in 35 languages, and Veggie Passport (US$0.99, apple.com/itunes) for phrases in 33 languages. Android’s Allergy Traveller Pro (99p) translates into 17 languages (market.android.com).

Coming to the market soon is a new food translation app developed at Purdue University, Indiana. Mireille Boutin, associate professor of the university’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, says: “A lot of software assumes that for every sentence in a foreign language, there’s one in your own that says the same thing – and that’s not true. We addressed this using multimedia – pictures, ingredient lists, questions and answers to ask waiters.” The app will be compatible with any smartphone but its name and date of release is still to be confirmed.

Find a specialist restaurant

Taylor recommends happycow.net and veggieplaces.co.uk for tracking down eateries around the world, while celiachandbook.com lists a few international eateries for gluten-free dining, and shamash.org lists 2,900 kosher restaurants in more than 50 countries. Currently, such options for allergy sufferers are hard to find – visit businesstraveller.com/discussion if you have any suggestions.

One hotel chain trying to make guests’ lives easier is Fairmont. At the beginning of the year it introduced the Lifestyle Cuisine Plus programme with menus that cater for vegans, as well as guests with diabetes, heart disease and gluten intolerance.

Accept your limits

As a traveller with a dietary requirement, you may not be able to be as adventurous as others but try not to let this interfere with experiencing a new culture. Remain positive, try as many new foods as you can, and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

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