Eating out with allergies in Norrköping

What eating out in Norrköping is like

General characteristics of the local dining formats — not a recommendation of any particular venue.

• Independent venues make up a large share of the centre, and independents with a single sitting can plan for an allergy easily when told in advance.
• The weekday lunch offer is buffet- and counter-heavy, as in most Swedish cities of this size, with the shared-utensil problems that implies.
• International kitchens are present but less numerous than in the big three cities, so the range of cuisines available to work around a given allergen is narrower. Choosing the cuisine first is a useful strategy.
• Event and conference catering in the city's converted industrial venues follows the same rule as everywhere: the organiser, not the venue staff on the night, is who needs to know.

What the rules in Sweden give you

• EU Regulation 1169/2011 applies in Sweden. A restaurant, café or bakery must be able to tell you whether any of the 14 declarable allergens is an ingredient in what it serves, including food sold loose and unpackaged.
• Sweden allows that information to be given orally rather than in writing, provided the business makes clear — normally with a visible notice — that allergen information is available on request. So the absence of allergen symbols on a Swedish menu is not a sign that the venue has no information; you are expected to ask.
• The duty covers declared ingredients, not cross-contact. 'Kan innehålla spår av' (may contain traces of) is a voluntary warning with no legal threshold behind it, and a venue is not obliged to guarantee a nut-free or gluten-free kitchen.
• Livsmedelsverket (the Swedish Food Agency) sets the national rules and publishes recalls when an allergen has not been declared; day-to-day inspection is done by the municipality's own food-control unit (kommunens livsmedelskontroll or miljöförvaltning).
• If you react to food in a Swedish venue, you can report it to that municipality's food-control unit. Reports are how systematic problems get found — a single conversation with the waiter usually is not.

Phrases that get a useful answer

English works almost everywhere, but the Swedish wording reaches the kitchen.

• Jag är allergisk mot … — I am allergic to …
• Jag har celiaki / jag måste äta glutenfritt — I have coeliac disease / I need to eat gluten-free
• Kan ni kontrollera med köket? — Can you check with the kitchen?
• Finns det … i den här rätten? — Is there … in this dish?
• Kan ni laga den i en ren panna / ny fritös? — Can you cook it in a clean pan / fresh fryer oil?
• Det är en allvarlig allergi, inte en preferens — This is a serious allergy, not a preference
• Innehåller såsen nötter, sesam eller mjölk? — Does the sauce contain nuts, sesame or milk?

Allergen names in Swedish

The words on the supplier labels your server will be reading.

• gluten — gluten; vete — wheat; korn — barley; råg — rye; havre — oats
• mjölk — milk; grädde — cream; smör — butter; ost — cheese; laktos — lactose
• ägg — egg; jordnötter — peanuts; nötter — tree nuts; mandel — almond; cashewnötter — cashews; hasselnötter — hazelnuts
• soja — soy; sesam — sesame; senap — mustard; selleri — celery; lupin — lupin
• fisk — fish; skaldjur — crustaceans/shellfish; blötdjur — molluscs; sulfiter — sulphites

Common questions

Related guides

• All city guides
• All allergen and diet guides
• Hosting guides