App Helps People with Food Allergies Eat Out

Akshat Gautam showing his App, AllergySafe

AllergySafe is a new app that takes the guesswork out of eating out by providing food allergy sufferers with a list of safe foods at their favorite restaurants. The app was created by 16-year-old Akshat Gautam, after he realized he was not alone in facing this difficulty. In the United States, food allergies are the sixth leading cause of chronic illness; every three minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room. There have been more than 170 foods reported to cause allergic reactions.

Applying his life-long interest in computer programming, Gautam started brainstorming ideas to solve this problem, and came up with the idea of a mobile app that would help people choose foods they could eat at their favorite restaurants. Entered in the Georgia State Tech Fair, AllergySafe came in first in the mobile application development division. After getting positive feedback about the app from families whose members suffer from allergies, Gautam published AllergySafe to the App Store so other families can benefit.