Transporting Perishable Goods

I just did a Yahoo search for "shelf stable soy products". There seems to be a soy pudding that does not need refrigeration. I realize it is not as healthy and may have more sugar than the yogurt but it will give her the dairy she needs and you can travel with it or ship it. Maybe the nutritionist can help out with some ideas. Does she eat beans and broccoli? That and a fortified OJ may carry her dairy nutritionally but if she eats 3 yogurts a day, a month may be a long time to go without her creature comforts. Even traveling within the US my 5 year old was disappointed that the same foods tasted or were made differently. Did you try a couple of different recipes for the homemade yogurt? I found a few and from a quick read it seems that temperature and incubation time are pretty key in taste and consistency. If the pudding doesnt work out, I think its worth another try at making the yogurt. Good luck!

is she allergic to nuts? You could try NUT MILK... should be easy enough to obtain nuts in India. All you do is soak the RAW NOT ROASTED nuts over night, rinse, then blend in a blender with enough water to have a milk like consistency. (You may have to strain little bits.) Cashew milk and Almond milk are favourites in this house. You can even try fermenting a thicker version to get yogurt... just blend into a thickness of yogurt and cover with a cloth and place in a warm place until it's soured a bit.

I live overseas and I have this dilemma every time I travel to the US just because of the long trip. You could try bringing it with you on the plane and it might help to have a doctors note explaining that your daughter has allergies and it is medically necessary for you to have it with you on the plane. I'm not sure of the availability in India but have you tried goat milk or cheese? I have an allergy to cows milk and grew up on goats milk. You can find it at speciality grocery stores like Whole Foods or Traders Joe.

Call the airline and find out whether or not they will allow you to put your "stock" in the fridge on the plan. If you talk with them ahead of time and offer to provide a doctor's note they may be accommodating. Otherwise, you could pack a small cooler with ice packs that will fit in the overhead.

I don't know an easy answer to this one. but have you checked with family what is available that can be substituted? I know my cousin who has severe allergies (milk, soy, wheat and most nuts possibly others as well) traveled to India to see family. He is much older though, about 11 or 12 at the time of the trip. I am not sure what my aunt did for this trip though she almost always brings food if they travel in the US. A carry-on cooler bag may be your best bet.

Hi R.. I would never ship food to another country, especially for a child, because of the huge risks of contamination during the whole process, not only because of lack of temperature controls but also the handling by customs.

I know this from many years of experience working in the field of exporting perishable pharmaceuticals to Central and Latin America. We used Fed Ex and DHL with special styrofoam boxes and cold packs - getting these to the country of destination in 1-2 days was just the beginning, as it needs to clear customs with lots of documentation. Import agents were hired by the clients to make sure the products were immediately refrigerated in customs (Fed Ex and DHL won't do this) and if we were lucky, it would clear customs in 1-2 weeks. Sometimes it took longer, and overall costs for S&H could easily be $500 or more for a small box.

This said, these were sealed pharma products with long expiration dates if properly refrigerated, so even if we shipped perishables, it doesn't compare to the risks involved with food. Nor would we ever have shipped to India because of long flight times and high temperatures.

What do they give to children who are allergic to dairy in India? Maybe you could start introducing that food before your trip? Just a thought. At 15 months I wonder if she might even be able to skip dairy for a while.

When my son went over seas he wanted to bring some foods to his friend that moved there and missed American foods. He did some checking and got permission from each of the countries to bring the food in a cooler with dry ice. As I remember, it was a bit of work to get the permissions and correct paper work needed but he was determined and got everything he needed. His friend was so excited!