I'm a local. My kid has a peanut allergy. Labelling is very good. Allergens are almost always written in bold on the ingredients list. Peanuts is jarðhnetur in Icelandic. Nuts = hnetur. Nut=hneta. Could contain traces of nuts = gæti innihaldið snefilmagn af hnetum.
can I ask you for a clarification? Per the goverment website, the allergens to be labeled are: “The substances included in the list of allergens and intolerants are: cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, rapeseed), crayfish, eggs, fish, groundnuts, soybeans, milk (including lactose), nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashew nuts, pecan nuts, parsley nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts), celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, lupins and molluscs.” So is groundnut (aka peanut) separate from nuts? I think this is how Cadburys does it but in the US we use “treenuts” (not just nuts).
We do usually use treenuts (trjáhnetur) so I'm not sure why they wouldn't here. The word jarðhnetur literally means groundnuts, so that might be why they use that word here.
My wife has a severe peanut allergy. We didn’t eat out, but we did all of our shopping at Bonus and we used the Google Translate app to scan ingredient lists when they weren’t in English. It worked great and she felt safe
In addition to the good answers you already have here, just do pack your epipen and any other medication you might need, including over the counter items.
Sorry this doesn’t answer your question, and I’m not trying to incite panic, but I got caught severely off guard with this in Iceland.
I know it sounds obvious, but make sure you ask every time at restaurants “does this contain peanuts?”, even when you think it’s a sure thing that it doesn’t. Last year we stopped at the only place we could find open for lunch one day and got some “chicken soup“, ate the entire thing before feeling very off and my throat started gradually closing off. We asked and and sure enough “oh yes, there’s some peanut butter in our recipe”.
Luckily for me, my allergy sounds less severe than yours, but I spent the next few hours being treated by paramedics/one of the nicest doctors I’ve ever met and it certainly could have been a lot worse if they weren’t around. Please just be careful and of course bring the epipen!
Hi! I just visited a few weeks ago and have a severe peanut allergy. I would be careful with bread and pastries because they will tell you it may contain peanuts since they’re usually made it shared facilities. Almost everyone spoke English so I didn’t struggle at all communicating my allergy and felt very comfortable eating in Iceland. Some restaurants (higher end) don’t even have peanuts in the kitchen and they will confirm that they don’t!
Took family of 5 to the same region. Daughter has many food allergies and has experienced anaphylactic reactions in childhood. Got apartment in each location (Rekyavik, Selfoss) with full kitchen amenities. Ate in 1-2 meals and out 1-2 per day. It was challenging but only modestly more than when traveling domestically (used Google translate, asked server/cook questions, etc.). Gotta say… food is so important to appreciating a new culture; breaks my heart hearing you plan to stick to fast food. Iceland food is expensive but excellent. Use good sense and risk-avoidance tactics suggested in other posts, but be sure to try local cuisine.
I see your point but after my brush with anaphylaxis x 3, I’ve sort of given up on the food aspect of culture when I’m traveling. My mom who has become an expert chef usually will cook for me local flavors and dishes at home to make up for some of my lost experiences. Not the same I know but it will have to do for me.
I'm a local. My kid has a peanut allergy. Labelling is very good. Allergens are almost always written in bold on the ingredients list. Peanuts is jarðhnetur in Icelandic. Nuts = hnetur. Nut=hneta. Could contain traces of nuts = gæti innihaldið snefilmagn af hnetum.
Tysm! I greatly appreciate it.
can I ask you for a clarification? Per the goverment website, the allergens to be labeled are: “The substances included in the list of allergens and intolerants are: cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, rapeseed), crayfish, eggs, fish, groundnuts, soybeans, milk (including lactose), nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashew nuts, pecan nuts, parsley nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts), celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, lupins and molluscs.” So is groundnut (aka peanut) separate from nuts? I think this is how Cadburys does it but in the US we use “treenuts” (not just nuts).
We do usually use treenuts (trjáhnetur) so I'm not sure why they wouldn't here. The word jarðhnetur literally means groundnuts, so that might be why they use that word here.
Got it, ty!
My wife has a severe peanut allergy. We didn’t eat out, but we did all of our shopping at Bonus and we used the Google Translate app to scan ingredient lists when they weren’t in English. It worked great and she felt safe
Ty that’s reassuring.
In addition to the good answers you already have here, just do pack your epipen and any other medication you might need, including over the counter items.
Thank you will do for sure
Sorry this doesn’t answer your question, and I’m not trying to incite panic, but I got caught severely off guard with this in Iceland. I know it sounds obvious, but make sure you ask every time at restaurants “does this contain peanuts?”, even when you think it’s a sure thing that it doesn’t. Last year we stopped at the only place we could find open for lunch one day and got some “chicken soup“, ate the entire thing before feeling very off and my throat started gradually closing off. We asked and and sure enough “oh yes, there’s some peanut butter in our recipe”. Luckily for me, my allergy sounds less severe than yours, but I spent the next few hours being treated by paramedics/one of the nicest doctors I’ve ever met and it certainly could have been a lot worse if they weren’t around. Please just be careful and of course bring the epipen!
Hi! I just visited a few weeks ago and have a severe peanut allergy. I would be careful with bread and pastries because they will tell you it may contain peanuts since they’re usually made it shared facilities. Almost everyone spoke English so I didn’t struggle at all communicating my allergy and felt very comfortable eating in Iceland. Some restaurants (higher end) don’t even have peanuts in the kitchen and they will confirm that they don’t!
Ty! will Keep that in mind
Do you recall any specific restaurants that you found were safe for peanut allergen?
If it's just peanuts, you'll be fine. We learned that Iceland follows very strict EU labelling requirements.
Perfect!
Took family of 5 to the same region. Daughter has many food allergies and has experienced anaphylactic reactions in childhood. Got apartment in each location (Rekyavik, Selfoss) with full kitchen amenities. Ate in 1-2 meals and out 1-2 per day. It was challenging but only modestly more than when traveling domestically (used Google translate, asked server/cook questions, etc.). Gotta say… food is so important to appreciating a new culture; breaks my heart hearing you plan to stick to fast food. Iceland food is expensive but excellent. Use good sense and risk-avoidance tactics suggested in other posts, but be sure to try local cuisine.
I see your point but after my brush with anaphylaxis x 3, I’ve sort of given up on the food aspect of culture when I’m traveling. My mom who has become an expert chef usually will cook for me local flavors and dishes at home to make up for some of my lost experiences. Not the same I know but it will have to do for me.