Traveling to Italy with Food Allergies: Nuts, Gluten and Dairy

Italy is one of the more manageable countries to visit with a food allergy. Restaurants have to tell you which of the 14 EU allergens are in each dish, many keep a printed lista degli allergeni, and coeliac disease is so well known that “senza glutine” menus are common even in small towns. The risks are specific: nuts in sauces and sweets, peanut oil in fryers, egg in fresh pasta, and shared scoops at the gelato counter.

What changes from region to region

Three things that catch visitors out

Peanut oil. Frying oil in Italy is often olio di semi (seed oil), and peanut oil (olio di arachide) is a popular choice for frying because it handles high heat. Highly refined peanut oil is less likely to cause a reaction than cold-pressed, but many allergists still advise avoiding it. Ask: Che olio usate per friggere? (What oil do you fry with?)

Fresh pasta is egg pasta. Pasta fresca all’uovo (tagliatelle, pappardelle, most filled pasta) contains egg. Dried pasta (pasta secca: spaghetti, penne, rigatoni) usually doesn’t. In the south, some fresh pasta like orecchiette is made with just semolina and water.

Gelato. The gelato itself may be fine; the scoop that just went through pistacchio and nocciola is the problem. Ask the server to wash the scoop (Può lavare la paletta?). Some gelaterias keep sealed tubs for allergic customers.

Gluten-free in Italy

If you are coeliac, Italy is close to ideal. The Italian Coeliac Association (AIC) runs a network of restaurants trained to cook gluten-free (Alimentazione Fuori Casa), pharmacies sell gluten-free pasta and bread, and many pizzerias bake gluten-free pizza in a separate oven. Say sono celiaco/celiaca, and for pasta ask whether it is cooked in separate water: La pasta è cotta in acqua separata?

Asking in restaurants

Most waiters will get the allergen list if you ask: Avete la lista degli allergeni? Show your card as well, because the list tells you what is in the recipe, not whether the kitchen can avoid cross-contact. Our Italian allergy phrases page has the full set of sentences and food words.

Medicine and emergencies

• Emergency number: 112 (or 118 for an ambulance).
• Epinephrine auto-injectors are sold in Italian pharmacies with a prescription; EpiPen is sold under the name Fastjekt in Italy. Bring enough for the trip in your hand luggage.
• Pharmacies (farmacia, green cross sign) take turns staying open at night; the rota is posted on each pharmacy door.

Common questions

Is Italy good for nut allergies?

Better than its reputation, as long as you learn which dishes contain nuts. Restaurants must declare nuts as an allergen, and most Italians understand allergia. The risk is concentrated in pesto, Sicilian and Piedmontese sweets, gelato and bakery items. Savoury restaurant food in Rome or Florence is mostly nut-free by recipe.

Do Italian restaurants have allergen menus?

They have to provide allergen information under EU law, either written on the menu, in a separate allergen book, or verbally on request. Many show a small sign saying the list is available from staff.

Is peanut allergy common in Italy?

Less common than in the US or UK, which means staff may underestimate how serious it is. Explain that a trace is dangerous: Anche una minima quantità può causarmi una reazione grave.