Hidden chili

[Gemini]

Why oh why is there chili in so much these days??

Yesterday I fancied some pate for lunch as we had bought some that day. I made some granary toast and enjoyed the pate.
Late afternoon/early evening I started to have bad griping tummy pains. Then a couple of bouts of severe diarrhoea. I took Buscopan and the another dose later and it subsided. I was puzzled as what had caused this. I had eaten 'safe' foods all day and that severe a reaction is usually to chili.
I checked the pate packaging and in very small letters was CHILI EXTRACT. No more of that pate for me It didn't taste spicy at all, but there was obviously enough there to affect me badly.

I have had a similar reaction to pickled onions once! Puzzled as to what had caused my symptoms I checked the new jar of very nice pickled onions. Red chili! Tiny pieces in the vinegar. I didn't eat any chili, so it was just the traces in the vinegar.

I check menus thoroughly and if any doubt check there is no chili in a dish.
The trend is for chili these days. I appreciate a lot of people like it. It is added to so many dishes though. Added to my similar reaction to beef, I am often left with few choices when eating out

It's not life threatening like nut allergy, but it can certainly ruin my night if I eat hidden chili!

[Plantaholic]

Oh what a nuisance Gemini, I hadn’t realised it was in so many products. Why if you can’t taste it?

[Oma]

Gem
I have the same problem , lots of things have hidden fish oil or extracts in them

I try to have things I know or vegetarian dishes when I’m eating out
Hope your not too sore today , it’s not nice having stomach pains like that ❤️

[Gemini]

I'm fine today than you ladies

It usually not nice but over in a couple of hours. OK if I'm at home but embarrassing and inconvenient away from home.

[Nanto2girls]

You have to be vigilant looking out for hidden ingredients.

[Daisy]

Gem, food intolerances are a huge problem when your'e eating out, and I have every sympathy. I know several people who don't tolerate chilli, but I had no idea is was so prevalent in restaurants.

I have a similar reaction to cream and even something like 'creamed potatoes' on a menu sets alarm bells ringing. Even worse, I have a friend who is allergic to garlic. My niece who is a pub restaurant manager with 20+ years' experience, says they would be hard-pressed to offer anything without garlic on their menu. A few years pre-Covid this friend visited China and she got a written translation of her allergy in every dialect they were likely to encounter.

[Mimi]

I have to avoid anything that has the slightest hint of spice or pepper, can't even eat a pasty any more because there seems to be so much pepper in them now.

I have an hiatus herina and my food tolerance is getting worse as I get older . My medication has been increased and I get through a lot of Gaviscon

But that pales into insignificance compared to DD who has several food allergies which can be extremely serious.

[Gemini]

My DD1 has nut allergy Mimi so I agree. Intolerances are a pain but not life threatening.

[Grauntie Mag]

DD2 has an allergy to yeast (amongst other food allergies). No red wine, anything with yeast extract etc.

[Daisy]

Mimi, I would imagine eating out is a real problem if you have to avoid spice and pepper. It sounds even more difficult for your DD with serious food allergies.

Grauntie, it must also be a nightmare for your DD2.

Do you think allergies and food intolerances are getting more frequent, or is it because we eat out more often? When I was a child a meal 'out' was a very rare treat for lots of people. Fish and chips was usually as exotic as it got.

[Sum1Ls]

Oh gem, exactly what I experienced the week before Christmas. A group of us went to a Vietnamese restaurant. I said ‘ No chilli’ but obviously there was some in a coating of some chicken and I was very poorly indeed all night. V and D and I fainted at one point. This stuff is lethal and I sometimes get very vexed when someone says ‘Oh, you don’t like spicy food’ not so. I love ginger, pepper, mustard and watercress. It’s just that damned chilli. And very difficult to avoid unless you’re very careful.

[Gemini]

Oh how awful Sum1!

I get the not liking spicy food comment a lot too and also 'its not THAT spicy' I do get a bit tired of explaining!

[Oma]

That’s the problem eating out Sum1 , you. Never really know what’s in it ,
Gem
My Shell fish allergy is bad enough but I would hate to have a Nut allergy as nuts in some form are in lots of things .
You do get sick of reading ingredients on the back of stuff but it’s the safest way ,
However restaurant food you can never be too sure.

I find a lot of dishes have either cheese or Garlic in , the two things I really hate ,
Although I will eat cheese in certain things but never ever Blue cheese or Parmigiano yuk.

I actually feel sick at the smell of Garlic , B loves Garlic bread and I have to open all the doors and light a wax melt when he uses it .

[Daisy]

Oma, I was making gravy for New Year's Eve dinner - a bit fraught because of Eva's accident - and just in time remembered to check the Kallo beef stock cube I wanted to use. Yes, garlic! I switched to the vegetarian one which had no garlic! (We have a friend with a severed garlic allergy.)

Sainsburys substituted the non-garlic crisps I ordered, and the driver and I were struggling to find the ingredients on the substitution. Very tiny print in the bottom corner where the packet was all creased up. A lot of products emphasise the more common allergy ingredients like gluten, milk, nuts etc but you need a degree in food science to work out some things.