What is an Allergy Translation Card?

What is an allergy translation card, and why it should be a staple in your passport case.

Ever been in a situation where you mentioned your food allergy at a restaurant, and the waiter looked at you like you were speaking greek? 

Now imagine being in Greece and trying to explain your food allergies in English. Not much different. Many in the service industry around the globe have a good understanding of English, but it is still typically their second language. An allergy translation card helps ensure nothing is left to chance, and no vital, potentially life-protecting information falls through the cracks.

What is an allergy translation card?

In a nutshell (sorry), it's a card that lists your exact allergies and avoidances in a foreign language. At Equal Eats, we offer pre-set cards for one-specific allergy, or customized food allergy cards for those with multiple allergies. 

Which languages are available for allergy translation cards?

Equal Eats offers cards in 50 different languages which you can check out on our card page, or at the bottom of this page.

How do I get a free allergy translation card?

The adage "you get what you pay for" couldn't be more true for allergy translation cards. You can definitely create an allergy translation card with Google Translate, but we urge you not to. Not only are the translations not always 100% accurate, the fact is that you end up creating a DIY paper based card that not many will take seriously.

Equal Eats offers professional plastic allergy translation cards that chefs and wait staff appreciate. Our translations are sound and go through a 3-tier accuracy system.

If you want a free Equal Eats card, we have free English cards available on our digital card website. 

What should I look for in an allergy translation card?

A proper allergy card for allergy should contain your exact allergens, as well as additional information that can up-level a server about food allergies, cross-contact and give a visual cue of the allergen. Equal Eats cards have a lot of info that came to be through consultation with customers and foodservice staff. See why we've incorporated each element into our allergy translation cards.

How many allergens can I put on an allergy translation card?

We are willing to work with you to make a card that's right for you! Generally, we can put 10-12 allergens on a customized card, but have creative ways to include more. Contact us for personalized suggestions.

What's the cost of an allergy translation card?

We charge $10 for a 2-pack of cards. If this is an issue and you feel obliged to create a DIY card via Google Translate, please contact us first. 

Why do chefs appreciate allergy translation cards?

Think of a busy restaurant environment. Think of a waiter jotting down all of your allergens precisely, and that message getting to the kitchen. It starts turning into a game of broken telephone. When you include foreign languages, it gets even more complicated. Putting your food allergies in writing is a way to ensure the right message is getting to the right person, in writing. 

Whatever you choose, make sure you communicate your food allergies wherever you go, and never take a chance with not disclosing them.

Our available languages for food allergy translation cards:

• Arabic
• Bengali
• Bulgarian
• Chinese (Simplified)
• Chinese (Traditional - Hong Kong)
• Chinese (Traditional - Taiwan)
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch
• English
• Estonian
• Finnish
• French
• German
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Hungarian
• Icelandic
• Indonesian
• Italian
• Japanese
• Khmer
• Korean
• Lao
• Latvian
• Lithuanian
• Macedonian
• Malay
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Portuguese (Portugal)
• Romanian
• Russian
• Serbian
• Slovak
• Slovenian
• Spanish (Latin America)
• Spanish (Spain)
• Swedish
• Tagalog
• Thai
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Vietnamese