What is an Allergy Translation Card?

An allergy translation card, also known as an allergy travel card or chef card, is a wallet-sized card you can show restaurant staff, chefs and food vendors to help communicate your food allergies, celiac disease or other dietary needs in different languages, enabling you to confidently dine out and travel around the world.

Why are Allergy Translation Cards Important for Travelers?

In short: allergy translation cards help keep you safe when dining out at restaurants in your home country and abroad. The cards provide key phrases to help you clearly express your allergy and avoid exposure to ingredients you are allergic to.

We’ve compiled a list of how our Equal Eats allergy translation cards can keep you safe.

How our allergy translation cards keep you safe

1. Clear Communication: Ensures that restaurants, waitstaff, and food retailers understand your dietary requirements, reducing the risk of cross-contamination or accidental exposure.
2. Travel Confidence: Travelers with allergies feel safer, more confident and empowered dining out in restaurants where other languages are spoken.
3. Avoiding Misunderstandings: Professional translations by native speakers help avoid misunderstandings that might happen if attempting to explain allergies without native fluency.
4. Customization: Cards can be customized to list your specific allergens whether to food such as peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and fish, for example, or medicine such as penicillin, as well as explain that you need to avoid gluten if you have celiac disease.
5. Peace of Mind: Allergy translation cards provide peace of mind when traveling, and for some, it's even the catalyst for booking their trip!

 

Kyle Dine, Founder and CEO of Equal Eats says:
“Studies from around the world show that outside of the home, restaurants are the most common location for food allergy reactions. For example, a recent research paper in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology based on data from the FARE Patient Registry showed that dining out was the second most common setting for food allergy reactions, occurring in 13% of children and 31% of adults in the US. These statistics highlight the importance of effective communication between individuals with food allergies and restaurant staff to prevent allergic reactions.”

What Does an Allergy Translation Card Look Like?

Every card shares vital information to restaurant staff including an overview of your specific allergy or allergies, a list of foods that contain your allergens and a warning about cross contact.

One side of the card is written in English and the other side of the card is written in your choice of language.

Features of translation cards

At Equal Eats, we offer pre-set cards for one-specific allergy, or customized food allergy cards for those with multiple allergies.

Each card includes an overview of your specific food allergy or allergies, a list of foods to avoid and a warning about cross contact.

You can choose from 675 allergens with up to 15 allergens on a single card.

They are the size and quality of credit cards, made from plastic, and 3.37 inches (85.6mm) wide and 2.125 inches (53.98mm) in height. 

Which languages are available for allergy translation cards?

Equal Eats offers cards in 52 languages for 675 allergens.

 

How to Use an Allergy Translation Card

Allergy translation cards provide important information to chefs and restaurant staff. Each card is customisable and so personalised to your specific dietary needs.

On arrival at the restaurant, hand your card to the server or restaurant manager. They will then make a note of your requirements. Often staff like to take your card to show the chef and hold onto it for the duration of your meal. Just remember to ask for it back. Many of our customers order multiple cards for this very reason!

Here’s what some of our customers have said about using our allergy translation cards:

“When chefs see these cards, they take our allergies more seriously”

“Restaurant staff immediately understand my needs”

“The cards have completely transformed my travel experience”

“I feel much safer when ordering meals”

 

How to Choose the Best Allergy Translation Cards

Our process is what sets us apart. 

At Equal Eats, we take the accuracy of our allergy translation cards very seriously.

To guarantee their reliability, each card undergoes a meticulous three-step process: professional translation, expert proofreading, and evaluation by a native speaker.

This rigorous approach ensures the utmost precision in conveying critical allergy information.

 

Types of Allergy Translation Cards

There are three main types of allergy cards:
1. Plastic cards
2. Printable cards
3. ID Cards
We cover the three main types in detail below.

1. Plastic Cards

Plastic cards are produced in-house by our product managers and shipped to you.

2. Printable Cards

Printable cards are available as a download and print-at-home option. These are ideal for last-minute travel.

3. ID Cards

Our ID cards are completely personalized to you. You choose your theme, add custom emergency details and upload a photo.

These cards are also great to hand to childminders, daycare staff and nursery staff. As children grow in independence, the ID cards are a valuable tool to help keep your children safe when eating out with their friends, going on school trips overseas and for college or university. 

 

Which Allergy Translation Card is Best For Me?

To work out which allergy translation card is best for you, first consider you restriction, whether it’s food allergy, celiac disease or other dietary restrictions.

If you have one food allergy, our pre-set cards are best for you.

If you have multiple food allergies, our customised cards are best for you.

If you have celiac disease, our celiac disease gluten free card is best for you.

For more information and options, check out the What's your restriction? Let's find your perfect card on the homepage of the website.

 

How Do I get a Free Allergy Translation Card?

You can create an allergy translation card with Google Translate, but we urge you not to for several reasons. Firstly, the translations from Google are not always 100% accurate. Secondly, you end up creating a DIY paper-based card that many will not take seriously.

If you would like a free Equal Eats card, check out our allergy translation cards in English, all of which are printable from home. 

Summary

In this blog post, we explained what an allergy translation card is, how it can be used and most importantly, how it can help keep you safe.

Traveling with food allergies can be challenging, but using an Equal Eats allergy translation card helps you communicate your dietary needs effectively.

Our allergy travel cards ensure that restaurant staff, chefs and food vendors understand exactly which foods you need to avoid, in your choice of language.

Check out our full list of allergy translation cards.

And if you need help packing for your next trip, download our free resource Equal Eats Travel Checklist.

We wish you happy and safe travels ✈️💙

 

Journal Article
"Characteristics of Food Allergic Reactions in United States Restaurants."
Oriel, Roxanne C. et al. (2021)
The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice, Volume 9, Issue 4, 1675 - 1682
Link to the source

 

Author Bio 

Karina Montagni
Chartered Marketer & Food Allergy Mum
Karina Montagni is a Chartered Marketer and holds a Master's degree in Tourism from Strathclyde University. She is SEO & Content Marketing Manager for Equal Eats and has over 11 years experience in managing multiple food allergies in her family. Karina is passionate about creating helpful content and resources which supports those living and traveling with food allergies and other dietary needs.