SafeMeal compared with other allergy cards, apps and translators
There is more than one way to tell a kitchen abroad what you can’t eat: a plastic card, a printable PDF, a translator, an app. These pages say what each one does, with sources, and who should pick which.
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Translation cards that do the same job
- SafeMeal vsEqual EatsEqual Eats sells translated allergy cards as an app, a printable PDF or a plastic card; SafeMeal builds the card in an app and adds local hidden dishes.
- SafeMeal vsSelectWiselySelectWisely ships pre-printed plastic translation cards; SafeMeal builds the card on your phone, for any combination of foods.
- SafeMeal vsLegal NomadsLegal Nomads sells detailed celiac cards, one per country, as downloads; SafeMeal puts gluten and the other foods in your profile on one card.
Tools that do a different job
- SafeMeal vsGoogle TranslateA free general translator, and ChatGPT, next to a card built for food restrictions: what each one does, and why you may want both.
- SafeMeal vsFigFig checks packaged food in US grocery stores; SafeMeal tells a restaurant kitchen what you cannot eat, in the local language.
- SafeMeal vsSpokinSpokin helps you choose where to eat through reviews from people with food allergies; SafeMeal tells the kitchen what you cannot eat.
What SafeMeal is
SafeMeal is an app for iPhone and Android. You build a food profile from 238 foods and 33 presets, say how serious it is, and the app shows restaurant staff a card in the local language with English under each line: 143 languages across 237 countries and territories. It lists the local dishes that often hide each food and works offline. It does not scan menus or barcodes and does not sell physical cards.
Build a card in the live demo to see what the kitchen would read.
See your own card in a minute.
Pick your foods, pick a country, and show the kitchen a card in its language.