Allergies Food Allergies Living With 4 Food Allergy Apps to Help Keep You Safe Product information, safe restaurants, and other helpful information at the ready By Jeanette Bradley Updated on February 08, 2024 Medically reviewed by Jurairat J. Molina, MD Fact checked by Nick Blackmer Print If you have a food allergy, using food allergy apps is a great way to feel more confident about the groceries you buy and the restaurant meals you order. Food allergy apps can be particularly helpful if you're newly diagnosed, unsure of what you can eat, or living with serious food allergies. This article looks at six apps that provide essential services for people with food allergies, what they do, how much they cost, and what devices they work on. Verywell / Zorica Lakonic Open Food Facts Key Specs Price: FreePlatform: Android and iOSAdditional Features: Classify foods based on sustainability, nutrition density, and other factors Overview Open Food Facts lets you scan products’ barcodes to check for allergens—14 different potential allergens in all. You enter your family’s list of allergens into the app, and once it scans a bar code, it provides you with an easy-to-read list of ingredients (in a large font, unlike most ingredient lists), plus pop-up allergy warnings. The app also can tell you whether products include a particular ingredient. AllergyEats Key Specs Price: FreePlatform: Android and iOSAdditional Features: Make reservations in one click via OpenTable Overview AllergyEats allows you to use a “find near me” search for restaurants and returns a list ranked by allergy-friendly rating. If you’re traveling to a new city, you can use the app to search for convenient, allergy-friendly restaurants. AllergyEats also includes places to eat within Disney parks through AllergyEats Disney World. The AllergyEats website was started in 2010 by Paul Antico after he experienced difficulty finding safe restaurants for his three children with food allergies. EMNet FindERNow Key Specs Price: FreePlatform: Android and iOSAdditional Features: Sort by nearest in miles or by current driving time Overview EMNet FindERNow is a free app developed by Massachusetts General Hospital that helps you find the closest emergency room. The database is national and comprehensive. The app shows locations of nearby hospitals on a map, with a bar at the bottom of the screen that reads, “Closest ER is __ mins away. Tap here for directions.” It also provides address and phone information that is constantly updated. If you’re traveling with food allergies, having this knowledge easily accessible on your phone is invaluable. It can also show which ERs are most likely to be prepared to treat children. iEatOut Gluten Free & Allergen Free Key Specs iEatOut Gluten Free & Allergen Free from Allergy Free Passport aims to help people with food allergies, celiac disease, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity find places to eat out safely. Once you download the app, you can choose which allergens you want to avoid from a list that includes the following: Gluten/wheatDairyEggsFishShellfishPeanutsSoyTree nuts Then, the app provides you with ethnic cuisines to browse for ingredients to avoid. For example, if you’re allergic to soy and want to eat at a Chinese restaurant, it will spotlight Chinese dishes and ingredients that typically contain soy sauce. If you’re allergic to dairy and plan to dine out at an Italian eatery, it’ll flag ingredients and dishes containing cheese. iEatOut Gluten Free and Allergen Free is $2.99 and is available for iPhone and iPad. It also works offline so that you can take it traveling internationally without incurring roaming charges. A Word from Verywell Even if you use apps to help you avoid allergens, you can’t let your guard down—especially if your reactions are severe. Always double-check everything before eating it, and carry an Epi-Pen if your healthcare provider has advised you. Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Pádua I, Moreira A, Moreira P, Barros R. Food allergy: practical approach on education and accidental exposure prevention. Eur Ann Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016;48(5):174-181. By Jeanette Bradley Jeanette Bradley is a noted food allergy advocate and author of the cookbook, "Food Allergy Kitchen Wizardry: 125 Recipes for People with Allergies" See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit