Eating out gets easier for people with food allergies and celiac disease
New online community makes dining and traveling an easier, safer and more pleasant experience for those with special diets

 

Sao Paulo, July 22, 2008. Origem Scientifica, a scientific consultancy company specializing on health research and data analysis, is pleased to announce the launch of Specialgourmets.com - a community-driven map guide aimed at making eating out and traveling a safer and easier experience for people with food allergies and celiac disease. Born out of the founders’ own need for such a resource, Specialgourmets is an innovative web application built with the information and feedback from an entire community, sharing the same experiences and restrictions. By using a map platform, users can search for suitable places (restaurants, hotels and shops) in any geographic region, add new establishments where they had positive experiences, rate and review the places listed, edit the information about a place, print lists to take when traveling, share their favorites and receive email alerts about new places suitable for their diets in a chosen area or about new reviews about specific establishments. Specialgourmets has been initially launched in English, Spanish and Portuguese, but plans to include other languages soon.

Millions of people worldwide suffer from some kind of food allergy (such as those to tree nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, soy, fish and shellfish) or from celiac disease, an auto-immune condition triggered by the ingestion of gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye and barley). For these people, even tiny amounts of the wrong food can make them ill or, in the more serious cases, be potentially fatal. So eating out and traveling is not only limited but can turn into a stressful and even dangerous situation. According to the founder of Specialgourmets and biologist Cynthia Schuck (PhD, Oxford University), finding a place that can safely accommodate these special diets can be hard, and there is no one better to make a suggestion than people sharing the same restrictions.

The map guide is the first of its kind in this sector and is being launched simultaneously in many countries. By providing a number of technological resources and tools to enable users to easily share their experiences, as well as a comprehensive search and alert system, Specialgourmets should make it easier for those with food allergies and celiac disease to enjoy the culinary riches of the world. Another aim of the website is to facilitate the search for Associations and Support Groups acting on particular areas and therefore support the wonderful work performed by these Associations in raising awareness about the problem. The website also features a section of tips that users can follow to make their dining experiences safer, as well as customizable chef cards and a summary of basic procedures that food caterers should have in place to serve allergen-free and gluten-free meals.

All services are free, both for users and for establishment owners.