Allervibe
Eating with a food allergy in Thailand
Thai food is cooked to order, which is good news — the cook can leave things out — but only if they understand what you are asking. Menus rarely list ingredients, English is patchy outside tourist areas, and fish sauce, shrimp paste and peanuts are foundational rather than optional. A Thai card that names your allergens does the explaining for you.
What labels and restaurants will tell you
- Pre-packaged food must declare gluten-containing cereals, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts and sulphites over 10 mg/kg (Ministry of Public Health Notification No. 383, 2017). Imported goods are usually labelled in English as well.
- Street stalls, markets and most restaurants have no labelling duty and no allergen charts. What the cook tells you is all the information there is.
- "No peanuts" is not enough: peanuts are often ground into sauces (satay, pad thai, som tam) and crushed on top after cooking.
Where the common allergens hide
- Fish sauce (น้ำปลา) and shrimp paste (กะปิ) season most savoury dishes, including vegetable and "vegetarian" ones.
- Oyster sauce is standard in stir-fries; it contains oyster extract and often wheat.
- Soy: soy sauce, tofu and soy milk are common, and "vegetarian" restaurants lean on textured soy.
- Egg is fried into pad thai and fried rice by default; ask before, not after.
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 Thai 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 Thai?
Yes — the language picker on this page offers fourteen languages, and you can print a card in each.
Cards in other languages
Japanese · Vietnamese · Greek · Turkish · German · French · Spanish · Italian · Portuguese · Dutch · Polish · Croatian · All languages
