Hi Yukon Chef,

People with food allergies are extremely sensitive to the foods they are allergic to. Sometimes, even the tiniest exposure can be enough to bring on symptoms or even allergic shock. For instance, kids who are allergic to peanuts can even have a reaction because they're sitting near a child eating a peanut butter sandwich.

Allergies to food are not caused by bacteria or toxins, so your theory about heated oil killing the allergen is not accurate. Allergies are caused by exposure to seemingly harmless substances within a food. In certain people these normally harmless substances elicit an allergic reaction. To my knowledge, there is no way to get rid of these allergens in food, as they are part of the food itself.

I'm not sure if this is what you're asking, but I wouldn't deep fry any other type of food in a deep fryer if you might be serving it to someone with a shellfish allergy. I'd maintain separate fryers for shellfish, and / or be sure that the fryer is thoroughly cleaned, rinsed and dried in between uses.

Kathi