<p>Not sure if the kid is lactose intolerant (common) or has a severe dairy allergy (rare).
Just keep the cheese on the side. The kid could use lactaid pills (I carry them everywhere!) if he’s intolerant. </p>
<p>BTW, I think it is rude for people to say “my kid is allergic (a lot of people say “allergic” when they mean intolerant)–don’t serve any dairy.”<br>
There are ways around it–including bringing medication or eating before/after and just having a drink or making a snack of whatever doesn’t contain dairy products. </p>
<p>My neighbor’s kids have celiac disease. Their diet is extremely restricted. Whenever her kids do activities away from home (young kids) their mom always sends their food with them That way she knows they will stick to their diet and their hosts won’t have to find special foods that everyone can eat. These kids always keep a special treat in their backpacks at school–in case there is a birthday treat, they have their own treat ready. My point is that the mom doesn’t go to the school or her kids’ friends’ moms and say “my kids have this dietary restriction–so please deal with it.” SHE deals with it and doesn’t impose on anyone else. I think that is so considerate of her.</p>
<p>If the diet is extremely restricted such as celiac or nuts, it makes sense to bring something to eat to ensure safety, otherwise, I think it is inconsiderate of guests not to alert hosts of allergies. It is no fun for the hosts to see the guests avoiding food they took so much time and effort preparing.<br>
A dinner was once held in my honor. The entree featured the one item to which I am allergic. I ended up eating bread and salad. The host was mortified. So was I, for forgetting to mention that I was allergic to this particular food. It would have been so easy for the host to cook something else. When I invite people, I make it a point to ask about dietary restrictions whether for health or religious reasons.</p>
<p>Please, do not add the cheese OR the “Accent” to the salad. Chedva is correct about the reasoning surrounding the graters in restaurants, and since you’ve already been told about the young person’s allergy to do so would be discourteous and could even leave you open to legal action should a severe reaction occur. As for the MSG, there is also a reason why good Chinese restaurants have MSG as an option or even do not use it at all. It is iffy as to whether or not the stuff really adds to the taste of any food, but it has been proven to contribute to migraines and fluid retention. If you put it in anything you serve, please do your guests the courtesy of placing a note next to the dish informing them of your inclusion. I could not eat it- migraines- nor could someone with high blood pressure or heart problems. Why take the risk? (and I do hope that no one has an allergy to shellfish, which is a common problem, and that if that popped up, that you would have an alternate dish to serve).</p>
<p>Real herbs and spices (dried or fresh) would be preferable to those containing msg or other similar ingredients. I learned this summer that lactose intolerance and dairy allergy are not at all similar. One of my D’s campers has a dairy allergy so I looked it up. The allergy is to the protein(s) in dairy, and it can be quite a severe reaction. </p>
<p>When my D was small a boy who was allergic to alot of things brought his own food to birthday parties etc. I never do see adults doing this. I know that some allergies do go away with time, but others don’t. I guess adults can just do the bread and water thing as mentioned above.</p>
<p>Mr. Fang has a milk allergy. Like wbow, I’m tired of explaining that no, it’s not lactose intolerance, he really is allergic. He hasn’t had to use an epipen yet (though he carries one) but there have been visits to the emergency room. </p>
<p>Please don’t put the cheese in. A bit of grated cheese could cause trouble.</p>
<ol>
<li>Put the cheese on the side.</li>
<li>Make TWO pasta salads…one WITH the cheese and one without. Be sure you do NOT use the same utensils when preparing these separate salads. Label these prominently. Put them at opposite ends of the serving table and also label the serving utensils. </li>
<li>Find a different pasta salad recipe that does NOT have cheese in it.</li>
</ol>
<p>i dont get what is so hard (crucial dilemma??)about having the cheese just be separate on the table
also, for that matter, have the shrimp be separate as well. My D as well as many others in that age group are vegetarian and if this was the only thing served it would enable her to eat whereas if the shrimp was mixed in she wouldnt eat it.</p>
<p>I would not use the MSG. There are lots of people sensitive to it. It’s a classic migraine trigger and it would never dawn on me that anyone would add it to food. There are too many fresh ingredients that can be used in a pasta salad without having to rely on MSG for seasoning.</p>
<p>I have NO known allergies. Accent (and any other MSG based seasoning) make me swell up like crazy…oh and I get mighty sick. Sorry, I would not suggest using this in your salad.</p>
<p>Peanuts? Are you kidding? pretzels, please. :(</p>
<p>I once had dinner at a restaurant with a group of people which included a total vegan. No problem the restaurant said, and suggested one of the vegetable curries. The vegan asked if the curry powder contained powdered shrimp. The waiter did not know, the chef did not know (the curry came from a bottle). The vegan ended up not eating anything. </p>
<p>Anyway, different people have different dietary restrictions, which is why it is a good thing for guests to alert their hosts. If they do have to bring their own food, the host will not be offended.</p>
<p>I would make the salad to the point of adding the cheese, then remove a generous serving into a separate storage container. Stick that container in the fridge (maybe with a masking tape label saying “shrimp salad - no cheese” or something). Then take your guest aside when he gets there and let him know there is some cheese-free salad in fridge for him. You don’t have the attention drawn of labeling two different bowls on the table, but takes care of his allergy issue. And it makes sure nobody else eats his portion (which could happen if you put it out) before he gets to it.</p>
<p>As the parent of a S with severe dairy allergies (used the epi pen multiple times) although it does make S stand out a bit more if you make up a separate bowl and keep it in the fridge as inntparent suggests, for him, it is better. </p>
<p>The problem with putting a bowl on the table is that others may eat out of it (then it is gone), or others may mix up the serving spoons (which contaminates the bowl and allergic person can no longer eat out of it), or others may use the serving spoon with contaminated hands (we are living with really severe allergy in our house and this alone can cause a reaction) and then S can’t touch the spoon, or others may shake the spoon over their plate accidently touching a bit of contaminated food (e.g., grated cheese) which then means contamination, etc.</p>
<p>So, make up something safe, let the person know discretely, keep it separate in the fridge, let the person make up his plate on his own and bring it to the table and just don’t make a big deal out of it.</p>
<p>If the kid is simply lactose intolerant, no harm, no foul. If he is by some chance actually allergic (although his mom said intolerant), well, you just avoided having the EMTs swarm your house!</p>