Eating gluten free or with allergies overseas

Allergy cards in the local language, cross-contact at street stalls, words to know and how to carry allergy medication when you eat out on a layover.

Eating overseas with coeliac disease or a food allergy takes more planning than a normal dinner, and a layover leaves little time to learn from mistakes. A card, a few words and the right questions do most of the work.

Carry a card in the local language

A card in the local language tells the cook what you can't eat without a long conversation. Allergy UK sells pocket-sized cards in 35 languages that cover up to 200 allergens. Each card carries three messages: an allergy alert, a message for the restaurant saying the food must be free of your allergen, and an emergency message. Digital downloads are available too, so you can keep one on your phone.

Coeliac UK's travel guides for over 50 countries list useful phrases, local cuisine and labelling information. ASCIA, the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, advises foreign-language travel cards when you eat out in a country where English is not the main language. Show the card to the person who cooks as well as the person who takes your order.

A few words to know

Wheat is the usual hidden problem. Show the written word on your card or phone instead of saying it.

Japanese: 小麦 (komugi) is wheat, and 醤油 (shoyu) is soy sauce, a common source of gluten.
Spanish: sin gluten is without gluten, trigo is wheat and celíaco is coeliac.
Italian: senza glutine is without gluten, and celiaco or celiaca is coeliac.
Portuguese: sem glúten is without gluten, and trigo is wheat.

Street stalls and cross-contact

Cross-contact means gluten or an allergen reaches food that doesn't contain it. A stall can cook all its dishes on one grill, in one pot of oil or with one pair of tongs. An NHS leaflet for people with coeliac disease says a Chinese takeaway is among the hardest meals to keep gluten free, because the cooking methods spread soy sauce, which contains gluten.

Coeliac Australia advises you to tell the staff you have coeliac disease, to confirm that your choice is gluten free or can be made that way, and to expect that bread, pasta and crumbed items can be unsafe. When the plate arrives, confirm it is your gluten-free meal, because dishes get mixed up, and question anything that looks doubtful. Coeliac UK adds that you should check buffets for cross-contamination, such as separate serving spoons.

At a stall, ask whether the oil, the grill or the wok is shared with other dishes, and what goes into the sauce. If the answer is unclear, eat somewhere else. Our guide to avoiding food poisoning covers the other street food risk.

Carry your medication

ASCIA's travel checklist for people at risk of anaphylaxis says:

Keep adrenaline devices with you in hand luggage. A checked bag is the wrong place, because you must reach the device at all times.
Keep medicines in their original packaging, which reduces problems at security and customs.
Ask your prescriber to complete an ASCIA Travel Plan, which helps when you carry devices through security and customs.
Pack a spare for delays, check that nothing will expire during the trip, and ask your prescriber how to replace a used device.
Photograph your action plan and prescriptions on your phone.

Tell the crew mate you are travelling with where your medication is. Check your company's rules on carrying and using medication on duty. If you react, call the local emergency number. Our list of emergency numbers for crew cities has them by country, and getting sick on a layover covers care and insurance.

Eating after a late arrival

Arrivals after dark leave you with fewer choices, and fewer chances to ask questions. Eat at a place where you can speak to the cook. Our guide to finding food after a late arrival lists the options.

Gluten-free options on On Chocks

Crew can mark a spot with a "Gluten-free options" tip, and the Filters button can narrow the map to gluten-free spots. The tip means crew have said the place has gluten-free dishes. It is not a promise about how the food is prepared or about cross-contamination. If you have coeliac disease, ask the staff before you order.