Studying Abroad with Food Allergies: A Risk Mitigation Guide for Families & Universities

Studying Abroad with Food Allergies: A Risk Mitigation Guide for Families & Universities

Studying Abroad with Food Allergies: A Risk Mitigation Guide for Families & Universities.

For many college students, the excitement of a semester or year, abroad is unbelievably exciting!

However, if your child has food allergies this excitement can easily be overshadowed by intense anxiety.

And rightly so.

For many university students who have food allergies, leaving their known and trusted local restaurants, medical facilities and accommodations for an unknown foreign country & language can be terrifying.

And let’s talk about the feelings parents may have sending their adult child 3,000 miles away into an unfamiliar food culture seems like a huge leap of faith!

For University Study Abroad offices, it’s a complex layering of institutional risk, safety compliance and potentially legal duty of care.

OK the real question:

Can a student who has severe food allergies safely spend a semester or more in abroad?

The short answer is

Yes! With advance training & preparation.

Over the past eight years, our travel consulting company, An Easy Journey, LLC. has successfully prepared and supported students across Europe’s most popular academic study abroad programs in:

• England & Ireland
• Spain & Italy
• France & Germany &
• Austria & Czech Republic

Our track record speaks for itself: 1,000’s of People Traveling for past 8 years with exactly 0 food allergy reactions.

Now, this isn’t a guarantee.

But it is a significant achievement that An Easy Journey, LLC. is very proud of & work diligently for.

Our food allergy training & strategies work.

Wether you are a parent trying to prepare your young adult child for a semester abroad program or a University Director looking to better insulate your University from food allergy liability, here is a cursory framework we use for safer, more inclusive and less stressful semester abroad programs.

Risk Mitigation Framework for International Education Facilities

Managing food allergies at an International campus requires balancing independent students with the safety structures in place.

As always, An Easy Journey looks at programs with understanding of:

• Local food labeling laws (EU vs non-EU countries as well as students specific food allergens)
• Cultural awareness & depth of understanding of food allergies/cross contact
• Emergency medical infrastructure

Navigating EU verses Non-EU Countries

Studying Abroad with Food Allergies: A Risk Mitigation Guide for Families & Universities first needs to understand EU vs Non-EU programs.

1. Our classes go over in depth, the differences between EU food allergy labeling & Non-EU countries. VERY important!
2. Major risk factors: University dining halls, university food allergy training, cross contact/cross contamination
3. Training on recognizing a food allergy reaction & timely responses.
4. Varying cultural understanding of food allergies.
5. Summer programs may be staffed differently than Fall or Spring semester programs.

This is a just a short glimpse into our full training modules, but is highlighting some of the most crucial areas.

The Wildcard: Weekend Travels Across Europe

As one may expect, a highlight of a semester abroad is the opportunity to travel to other European cities/countries.

A massive & often overlooked challenge is the prevalence of students traveling on long weekends or holidays.

Even within the same country, European foods are very localized to what’s available nearby. For example, the foods traditionally served in Northern Italy (Milan, Lakes District, etc..) are very different than the ingredients used in local dishes in Rome, Florence & Naples!

So, a dish that maybe prepared with butter in Northern Italy maybe made with olive oil in Tuscany. This completely changes the food allergen possibilities & often can surprise students. Additionally, this example is found all over Europe.

A student who has a good management of their new campus environment can suddenly find themselves in a high risk scenario on a travel excursion if both the student & the university program has not fully prepared their training, prep & programs.

Beginner 4-Step Blueprint for Safer Studying Abroad with Food Allergies

One key factor in our food allergy trainings & consultations is our strict adherence to food allergy protocols & timelines.

This is a top reason our company has 0 food allergy reactions in our 8 years in business.

Of course, people can show up and “wing it” but often these are the students who end up in ER’s far from home. And often struggle with communicating their food allergy medical plan in a foreign language.

How We Can Help Your Family or University

At An Easy Journey, LLC. we believe that meeting these critical food allergy study abroad programs need our specialized training designed specifically for colleges and universities. After all, there are 85 million people worldwide who have a food allergy and unfortunately, this number is growing exponentially.

Our programs are designed to help Universities seamlessly fulfill their yearly safety and risk compliance requirements. But, most importantly, to increase student safety.

• Did you know the fastest growing demographic to have a food allergy reaction is an adult who has been eating their new food allergen many times before?
• Would your staff be able to recognize a food allergy reaction in only a few seconds?
• If teachers/staff/faculty are able to recognize a food allergy reaction, is life-saving epinephrine available?
• Does anyone know how to administer an Epi-pen?
• When seconds count for a person’s life, will you be able to save them?

Note: ALL university staff that we have trained, said our training was significantly helpful for recognizing & understanding what to do if a food allergy reaction occurs.

At An Easy Journey, LLC. we believe that life-threatening food allergies should never shrink a person’s world. The experiences a student will experience during a study abroad and the confidence gained are irreplaceable.

Our Training & Consultations

For Parents & Students: We offer comprehensive, country specific study abroad semester programs for your food allergies.

For Universities/Corporations: We provide corporate consulting, facility auditing, risk mitigation training and staff safety protocols.

Have an upcoming trip or semester abroad? Contact us now.

Don’t miss out on our upcoming Study Abroad Program Reviews by SUBSCRIBING to An Easy Journey newsletter for all updates and expert food allergy advice.

Join our Private Facebook Group to chat with others who have food allergies.

Only Positive People!

An article that goes into more details on the prevalence in USA schools and food allergies.

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