Seafood Allergy

[HBS60]

Greetings!
As I prepare for my first Camino in August, I’m trying to learn as much as possible of all aspects of life on the Camino. Somewhere I read that salads always include tuna mixed in, and I’m allergic to seafood, (besides I don’t care for the smell of seafood). Is it difficult to make sure that salads are free of seafood?
Somewhat related, I’m aware that Galicia is notorious for its seafood, pulpo (octopus), squid, etc. I would hope that meat options are reasonably available, just want to make sure.
Thanks!

 

[henrythedog]

Greetings!
As I prepare for my first Camino in August, I’m trying to learn as much as possible of all aspects of life on the Camino. Somewhere I read that salads always include tuna mixed in, and I’m allergic to seafood, (besides I don’t care for the smell of seafood). Is it difficult to make sure that salads are free of seafood?
Somewhat related, I’m aware that Galicia is notorious for its seafood, pulpo (octopus), squid, etc. I would hope that meat options are reasonably available, just want to make sure.
Thanks!

Canned tuna is sometimes (not always) applied as a dressing or seasoning to mixed salads. I’d suggest learning how to say you want a salad (assuming of course, that you do!) without tuna and that it’s not just a preference but an allergy.

Galicia is often considered renowned for seafood, and pulpo is widely available. I don’t eat it personally as I’ll not eat anything more intelligent than a family member.

Meat is universally available.

 

[alexwalker]

Greetings!
As I prepare for my first Camino in August, I’m trying to learn as much as possible of all aspects of life on the Camino. Somewhere I read that salads always include tuna mixed in, and I’m allergic to seafood, (besides I don’t care for the smell of seafood). Is it difficult to make sure that salads are free of seafood?
Somewhat related, I’m aware that Galicia is notorious for its seafood, pulpo (octopus), squid, etc. I would hope that meat options are reasonably available, just want to make sure.
Thanks!

Just tell the waiter:

"No pescado, por favor, soy alérgico."
("No fish, please, I am allergic").

 

[J Willhaus]

Greetings!
As I prepare for my first Camino in August, I’m trying to learn as much as possible of all aspects of life on the Camino. Somewhere I read that salads always include tuna mixed in, and I’m allergic to seafood, (besides I don’t care for the smell of seafood). Is it difficult to make sure that salads are free of seafood?
Somewhat related, I’m aware that Galicia is notorious for its seafood, pulpo (octopus), squid, etc. I would hope that meat options are reasonably available, just want to make sure.
Thanks!

You can ask for an ensalada verde which comes without fish or eggs. I saw that a lot this winter on menus.

 

[K_Lynn]

In my experience, restaurants and cafes were very good with allergies. I'm allergic to garlic and had memorised "Soy muy alérgico al ajo. ¿Qué es seguro comer?" (although I guess I should have used alérgica lol) "I am very allergic to garlic, what is safe to eat?". Sometimes the answer was "¿Ajo? Nada" But most times they went out of their way to feed me.

If you are allergic to trace amounts of fish and seafood, make sure you have an EPI pen and maybe have a note saved on your phone in Spanish that you can show the waitstaff to avoid any confusions. Something like "I am very allergic to fish and seafood. I can not have even a trace of it in my food. Please make sure that no fish touches my meal." And of course avoid restaurants that specialize in seafood lol.

 

[HBS60]

Thanks to all! Thankfully I’m a native Spanish speaker (from Latin America, but our customs and foods can be very different). I never heard of tuna in every salad, might be a Spain thing. A typical salad in PR is simply lettuce and tomato with oil and vinegar, but that was back in my younger day, I’m sure things got fancier now). No need for an epi pen, it’s a minor allergy, just unpleasant.
Thanks!

 

[trecile]

Tuna is not in every salad, but in general an ensalada mixta has tuna.

 

[SarahTheKiwi]

"Sin pescado" - the two most valuable Spanish words I've learned so far! But I'm just fussy to be honest.

 

[KayeCam]

Greetings!
As I prepare for my first Camino in August, I’m trying to learn as much as possible of all aspects of life on the Camino. Somewhere I read that salads always include tuna mixed in, and I’m allergic to seafood, (besides I don’t care for the smell of seafood). Is it difficult to make sure that salads are free of seafood?
Somewhat related, I’m aware that Galicia is notorious for its seafood, pulpo (octopus), squid, etc. I would hope that meat options are reasonably available, just want to make sure.
Thanks!

You can get cards ( in any language) from EqualEats www equaleats.com which says I have a shellfish allergy and lists ALL the different types of shellfish ( of course tuna isn't a shellfish but you can get card for fish allergy and other allergies too) AND it has simple instructions for ensuring no cross-contamination in the preparation of the meal. You can get plastic card or digital download to show on your phone, email or print out.


Obviously an EpiPen is a must if you are an anaphylaxis risk.

 

[David Tallan]

Greetings!
As I prepare for my first Camino in August, I’m trying to learn as much as possible of all aspects of life on the Camino. Somewhere I read that salads always include tuna mixed in, and I’m allergic to seafood, (besides I don’t care for the smell of seafood). Is it difficult to make sure that salads are free of seafood?
Somewhat related, I’m aware that Galicia is notorious for its seafood, pulpo (octopus), squid, etc. I would hope that meat options are reasonably available, just want to make sure.
Thanks!

As others have said, tuna is a common ingredient or topping on mixed salads, but it shouldn't be hard to ask that your salad be served without tuna or seafood. While it is also true that Galicia is famous for its seafood (a word most of us are likely to use instead of notorious ), meat is not at all difficult to come by. This is still Spain, after all.

 

[JabbaPapa]

Greetings!
As I prepare for my first Camino in August, I’m trying to learn as much as possible of all aspects of life on the Camino. Somewhere I read that salads always include tuna mixed in, and I’m allergic to seafood, (besides I don’t care for the smell of seafood). Is it difficult to make sure that salads are free of seafood?

I have similar seafood restrictions (actually the worst for me is seaweed stuff). I'm OK with whitefish, though I could not eat it daily, but very small amounts of stuff like tuna is OK as it's not an allergy per se (except plant-based seafood). Larger amounts of tuna, salmon etc. are a complete no-no.

Salads on the more popular Camino routes in Spain and Portugal no longer have mandatory ham, tuna, cheese, and/or boiled egg, but a wider variety of salads is now proposed, because the increased number of pilgrims has made variety economically viable additionally to the local culinary preferences.

Somewhat related, I’m aware that Galicia is notorious for its seafood, pulpo (octopus), squid, etc. I would hope that meat options are reasonably available, just want to make sure.

Absolutely !!

 

[CWBuff]

I never heard of tuna in every salad, might be a Spain thing.

Tuna is not in every salad, but in general an ensalada mixta has tuna.

Yeah... my 'fave' (NT!) was Ensalada Russa, which in the true Russian\Ukrainian and otherwise any other ex-republics of USSR dishes wold not even dream of having tuna (or any other fish).
I do recall there was a rather pretty huge thread here sometime in 2022 on the subject.

In any case as noted above in all the cases - no worries about your allergies and yes plenty of choices available