Singapore Expats

Here's a question for all of you who have been in Singapore for a while.

My 10 year old son has a severe peanut allergy (needs an epi pen if he eats peanuts). I was wondering with the asian influenced cooking on the island, is he more likely to encounter a problem? I was also wondering if singapore is reqiured to label food like the United States does or is it more lax?

Thanks so much for your "being there" knowledge!! These boards have been great!

FamilyOfFive,

Yes, you need to be very, very careful here in Singapore. A lot of food dishes are cooked with Peanuts (groundnuts they're quite often called). Also lots of sauces here are made with ground up peanuts (Like Satay's peanut sauce), or are cooked in peanut oil.

No, There are not labeling guidelines/warning like in the US, You would almost have to ask if you eat any local food and the odds of finding out would be not something I'd be willing to bet my sons life on. The only warnings posted at food stalls are a,b,c,d,e warnings on cleanliness.

While inspection of foodstuffs imported to the island is very strong here in Singapore, food preparation places are relatively lax regarding the ingredients used to make up the dishes. MSG also used heavily here in foodstalls.

Hope this helps.

sms

the supermarkets is the only place u can shop safely for your kids.

with regards to msg, this is not so uncalled for.. most are generally spices almost the same effect as msg.

Thank you for the information. I was assuming Singapore would tend to use more peanut products in food prep and cooking, especially the local food courts (stalls).

It's good to know that the supermarkets have well labeled food. My son is such a picky eater (will never try anything new) that I'm assuming he will eat what I prepare at home or eat out at one of the many "American" fast food restaurants.

Maybe I should check with the American headquarters of McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, and Pizza Hut for info on what thier Singapore franchasise use for frying thier food (peanut oil?) and what their ingredients are.

Thanks again, we are trying to evaluate our offer to relocate to Singapore (2 yr stay) and obviously my son's allery is of utmost concern to us. These msg. borads have such wonderful information!!

My son also have a severe peanut allergy and we visit Singapore often. I avoided all malay food. What I found was in most hawker, they use palm oil because they are cheaper but you always need to ask. Most chinese resturant uses peanut oil. We always go to McDonald, KFC and Burgerking and there's no problem. We avoided most local desert, cookies and local bakerys. Supermarket is good with labels. Most people have not heard about peanut allergy so they don't understand how serious it is. My son loves Singapore local food and he always have a great time there.

Be careful as lots use groundnut oil which is peanut oil by another name.

I agree it is safe to get your kid's stuff in the grocery, they have some stuff that are peanut free from cereals, bars and cookies. You may also use soybase butter as your alternative for peanut butter. cheers!

Supermarkets like cold storage and fairprice finest tend to have a wider variety of products. They also have a bigger range of organic products.

As for common hawker/"coffeeshop food", I think would have to double check with the sellers. Peanuts are very commonly used in most asian cusine.

This is not my personal experience, but I have a friend here who has severe food allergies and she had to take her epipen and go to A&E (not sure but I think at SGH). Apparently the paramedics on the way had never seen someone in anaphylaxis before, and the A&E doc had to google what an epipen was before she proceeded. Fortunately my friend was coherent enough to tell them what the usual procedure was for treatment to point them in the right direction, but as I'm sure you know, every second counts in that situation. It might be worth it for you to do a dry run to your local A&E.

Hi! My son also has a peanut allergy, he was diagnosed as being anaphylactic just under a year a go. We see Dr Lee at The Child and Allergy Clinic, and I was given the advice not to eat in any local restaurant here. This is advice that my husband and I have stuck to! However, there are few safe places to eat. Ironically fast food chains such as McDonalds cater well for children with food allergies.

As a family we avoid eating anywhere that we are unsure of, although we have found some great places that have been able to cater for our son. However, if we are ever unsure of a place and a kitchen we walk out!

There is online support for Allergy Families practical and everyday advice and tips. Including where to shop, fun family days out that are suitable for Allergy Families (and everyone).