Allervibe
Eating with a food allergy in Portugal and Brazil
Portugal follows EU rules; Brazil has its own strict allergen-labelling law but no restaurant obligations. Both cook with a lot of egg, dairy, fish and — in Brazil — peanuts and cashews. A card in Portuguese works in both countries.
What labels and restaurants will tell you
- Portugal: the EU 14 allergens on packaged food, and allergen information available in restaurants and cafés for unpackaged food.
- Brazil: RDC 26/2015 requires a mandatory "ALÉRGICOS: CONTÉM…" statement on packaged food for 17 allergen groups, including latex; restaurants have no equivalent duty.
- Brazilian Portuguese uses some different food words (e.g. "amendoim" is peanut in both, but "castanha" can mean chestnut or cashew) — the card uses unambiguous terms.
Where the common allergens hide
- Egg: pastéis de nata and most Portuguese sweets are egg-based; egg in Brazilian coxinha batter and brigadeiro variants.
- Fish: bacalhau (salt cod) in countless dishes; fish stock in rice dishes; sardines.
- Milk: cheese in pastries and sandwiches, requeijão in Brazil, condensed milk in sweets.
- Nuts: cashew (castanha de caju) and Brazil nuts in Brazilian snacks and sweets; almonds in Portuguese confectionery.
How to use the card
Hand it over before you order, not after the food arrives, and wait for the person who cooks — not just the one who takes the order — to read it. If a dish is doubtful, the safest answer is a different dish, not a modified one. For packaged food, scan the barcode with Allervibe: it reads the ingredient list in the local language and checks it against the same allergens on your card.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Portuguese allergy card free?
Yes. Pick your allergens, add a name if you want one, and print. No account, no app, no email.
Who translated the card?
The allergen names and the card wording are the same translations used inside the Allervibe app, reviewed by native speakers. They use the legal allergen terms, not slang, so a cook or waiter recognises them at once.
What size is it?
Credit-card size (85.6 × 54 mm), so it fits a wallet or phone case. Print two and keep one in your passport.
Can I make one in a language other than Portuguese?
Yes — the language picker on this page offers fourteen languages, and you can print a card in each.
Cards in other languages
Japanese · Thai · Vietnamese · Greek · Turkish · German · French · Spanish · Italian · Dutch · Polish · Croatian · All languages
