Eating in Italy for people with eating allergies to nuts (cashews, peanuts, almonds, walnuts)

The one nut you're liable to run into a lot is the pistacchio. (That's the Italian spelling, BTW. It's pronounced with a hard "k" sound, instead of the "ch" or "sh" we use.) Pistacchios are used a lot in cooked foods. In spaghetti sauces, crumb coatings, and of course in candies and gelato. Walnuts are also used in cooking, but not as much as pistacchios. I think I'd carry a note to show waiters and vendors informing them of the allergy, and emphasizing how important it is.

I would also learn the Italian words for the danger foods. If you don't have a good dictionary or phrase book, ask here on this forum. I have a little Italian, but I'd rather entrust you to some of the native or near-native speakers who do post here.

This question comes up here periodically, so if you use the search function at the top of your screen you can find some good tips from our previous discussions. But, generally, there's some basic things I do that might be helpful, although I'm guessing some of this may be repetitive to you...so here goes. Bring an Epipen and a back-up one so that if you end up using it you're not traipsing around looking for a replacement. Bring your own Benadryl - they do not sell this in Italy.

When I travel, I take a daily Zyrtec, as it provides a little wiggle room coverage, I think. This might be especially helpful for the peanut/almond/walnut allergy. If you run out of Zyrtec, you can buy it over there in a pharmacy.

I carry an allergy card that lists my allergy and specifically states that it's a life-threatening allergy. I really like to stress this because sometimes I worry that people just assume I'm "fussy" or that I have an intolerance to something.

I mostly find it stressful to try to describe my allergy in a restaurant setting in a foreign language so I usually rent an apartment so I can cook my own food. I read a lot of labels in the grocery store and can usually find my problem food.

I think all of those nuts will show up in your restaurant meals there....we're served walnuts in salads all the time, there's nuts in the pesto often. While my allergy is not to nut products, restaurants are just tough and require a lot of vigilance. I've had a lot of ordering failures....even after telling my waiter about my allergy this past April, he brought me a salad 5 minutes later with that very item in it!

I try to stick with basics in any eating situation. I eat like a 8-year-old when I travel. Pizza. Pasta with pomodoro sauce. Gelato. More pizza. Macaroni and cheese.

It all works out but it's always a relief to get back to my hometown restaurants, where I know what dishes I can eat.

"there's nuts in the pesto often"

Unless it's some unusual variant recipe, pine nuts are a standard part of pesto. So, unless the person knows for sure they are not allergic to pine nuts, they should avoid pesto completely.

Here are some other threads on the subject of food allergies in Italy (and there are more - it's a common question here on the Forum):

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/food-allergy-accommodation

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/my-daughter-has-a-peanut-tree-nut-allergy

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/italy-4-cities-in-10-days-with-food-allergies

Menus in Italy generally list all ingredients in the dish, except for basic seasonings. Pesto can be made from several different kinds of nut, but the menu should say which one(s). Gelato with nut flavors are popular, know what to avoid.

I would take a card with the Italian words for the nuts your friend must avoid.

Thanks All! This was very, very helpful...

cheers!
Arun

I have no food allergies, but I was impressed with the precision of Italian menus last year. Vigilance will still be needed (take lots of copies of a statement about the allergies, typed up in Italian), but I'd be much more concerned about traveling in some other countries. Here in Spain, a mixed salad can include lots of allergens not mentioned on the chalkboard listing the days's options.

I'm not sure, though, how one could be confident of avoiding cross-contamination at a gelato stand; all it takes is for one employee to have been careless about one of the scoops. And in Orvieto I once had a salad that tasted as if it either included pulverized walnuts or perhaps walnut oil in the dressing. I don't believe any nut products had been mentioned on the menu.

Pesto commonly includes almonds in Sicily--I think in addition to pine nuts (pignoli).

We travel with a daughter who is extremely allergic to peanuts -- we have always used Select Wisely cards -- the waiter can take them back in to the kitchen to show the chef. We also use google translate on our phones and have never had a problem. We tend to stay away from desserts as a general rule and always inquire about ingredients. We have found that we get a good response from everyone.

In addition to almonds, pistacchios, pine nuts, and walnuts, hazelnuts and chestnuts are also found in Italian cuisine, especially in gelato and other sweets.

All Italian restaurants are now required by EU regulations to disclose if their food contains allegens from an extensive list of 14 problem categories. One category is:
8) la frutta a guscio (mandorle, nocciole, noci, pistacchi);

You shouldn't have much trouble finding the list and verifying which foods to avoid.