re-raising

I am going to Olive Garden this afternoon. I called ahead and they were so nice. They are going to help make sure my son gets no milk, eggs or nuts!!! Yea Olive Garden!

Reading everyone's comments gives me quite a boost. I love Olive Garden- but thought restaurants were out for me now. (Adult onset PA). I will have to give our local Olive Garden a call and see what happens. Thank you all for posting this information- especially the menu information.

I have eaten at Olive Garden for years and it is one of the few restaurants I consider safe.
Just tell the waiter, most likely they have been trained about the issue

I have adult onset PA, and shellfish allergy, and Olive Garden is one of the restaurants I have been able to eat at safely as well. I haven't checked the desserts lately but that chocolate torte cake looks yummy!

My daughter has a severe peanut allergy and we have been able to eat Olive Garden without any problems, even when we travel to different areas.

My son (who is PA and allergic to sesame) ate the salad there. He really liked it a lot, and in fact that is what got him interested in salad. Now he eats a green salad almost every day at home.
I don't remember if he ate any breadsticks, but I doubt it. He did eat some kind of bread, but it was soft and plain, not crunchy breadsticks, and there were no spices on it. It was a plain white French or Italian style bread that came with the salad.
Has your child reacted to sesame in the past? My son is allergic, but his reactions have been hives only. I admit we are not as careful about sesame as we are with peanut.
I think pretty much all bread should be considered as may contain sesame. However, my son does eat bread and has never had a reaction from any, and so I am less careful than some others who have experienced severe reactions from sesame. There are some on this board who I'm sure would never take that risk, and for good reason.
I think the response from the restaurant reflects the fact that most bread probably is cross contaminated. And since sesame isn't one of the top 8 allergens, it is often not listed and can be included with spices and seasonings.

I am so disappointed. Olive Garden was one restaurant that we have been comfortable going to with the pa DS. I have spoken to the local manager several times and he has always told me that they do not have peanuts or peanut oil in any of their products (except maybe dessert...and we never order that anyway).
I wonder if this is a new CYA situation...or if I have been given the wrong information all along.
This is very disturbing!!!
ETA: Does anyone else feel this way...what is your take on this???
[This message has been edited by notnutty (edited February 13, 2007).]

To me, it seems part of it is CYA...but do you blame them? When saying you or your child has a "life threatening food allergy", they of course want to give you all the information possible. If they haven't investigated each vendor, to see if there is shared machinery or facilities...then they are giving you the full picture and letting you decide. They are just saying "we don't know".
I'm not sure if the FDA labeling guidelines include food stuffs sold wholesale to restaurants...if not, it makes sense that they don't have complete ingredient lists. We also know that, in any event, it's not required for manufacturers to label for same equipment or facility (called advisory labels). So really, unless Olive Garden calls every vendor they use and investigate shared machinery, then they can't guarantee anything about the ingredients...ya know?
I know it sucks, and eating out is part of our culture and is a nice treat...but you'll find that while a manager or owner can say "we have no peanuts or nuts in anything on the menu" that may be true as to what they create in the kitchen and their own recipes...but...it's more about 'where do their supplies come from' that they may not know about or know enough to look and investigate.
Recently at an Outback I went through my usual schpeal about PA/TNA. The manager was great, went in back and came back out. He told me that he didn't have the ingredient list for the spices that go on the veggies..so..he'd give me plain. I said, "oh, I've eaten it before and those are fine" and he came back with, "well, I can't confirm it for my own comfort, so I will not serve it to you". CYA? Yup, but can you blame him? I was like, "Ok, no prob" and got plain veggies.
Adrienne
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30-something survivor of severe peanut/tree nut allergy

I think it is a CYA. Since manufacturers are now required to label allergens, I would think that the vendors would be labeling their products as well. I work in Food Service and we get huge containers of sauces, ketchup, etc. All have manufacturers' name on them and have what is inside listed in the ingredients. If these restuarants are going to use products from a vendor that could be cross-contaminated, it should be listed on the product, therefore, the restaurant should know what that product contains. For that matter, every restaurant would fall into this category unless they specifically prepare their own ingredients and know exactly what is in everything.
I would still feel comfortable eating at Olive Garden (it's one of our faves!). I always ask if there are any changes in their ingredients that I should be aware of.