Sinhala allergy card

What is the biggest risk in Sri Lanka?

The danger is rarely the dish you can see. Rice and curry arrives as five or six small dishes, and any of them can carry an ingredient the menu never mentioned. Our Sri Lanka food allergy guide covers the whole country; this page focuses on what a Sinhala-speaking kitchen is likely to be cooking.

Fish you did not order. Dried fish, sold as Maldive fish or umbalakada, is pounded into sambols and shaved into some vegetable and dhal curries as a savory base. A curry listed as "pumpkin" or "dhal" can therefore still contain fish. Do not ask only whether a dish has fish in it; ask whether the sambol or curry is seasoned with Maldive fish.

Coconut in nearly everything. Coconut milk, scraped coconut and coconut oil run through curries, sambols and hopper batter. Cooks may not think of coconut when you describe a nut allergy, so say which one you mean. If coconut matters to you, name it separately rather than assuming it is covered.

Cashews and other nuts. Cashew curry is a dish in its own right, so tree nut allergy needs a clear word at the counter. Ask whether fried rice is finished with cashews, and whether a pudding or sweet contains nuts, sesame or both.

Egg and wheat in street food. Kottu is chopped roti cooked on a hot plate, often with egg, and an egg hopper has egg in its name. Ask whether the roti or hopper batter includes wheat flour, and whether eggs go on the same plate as your order. For other dishes worth knowing before you travel, see food experiences in Sri Lanka.

Why written Sinhala beats spoken English

Sri Lanka has two official languages. The Constitution names Sinhala as the official language and also gives Tamil official status, with English as a link language, as described by the Department of Official Languages and the Official Languages Commission. Tourist hotels often have staff with good English. The cook at a roadside rice shop, a bakery counter or a kottu stall may not, and the person you speak to may not be the person holding the knife.

A card solves a specific problem: it travels from your hand to the kitchen without being paraphrased. Spoken English gets compressed into "no fish, okay?" and an answer of "okay" that may mean "yes, I understood" rather than "yes, it is safe". A printed list of allergens in the cook's own script lets them check the pot, not just nod.

Which card to carry. Sinhala is the working language in the south, west and central Sinhala-majority areas: Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Ella and the south coast. Colombo is mixed, and Sinhala, Tamil and English are all heard. In the Northern and Eastern provinces (Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa) and many hill-country estate areas, kitchens more often work in Tamil, so a trip that crosses regions may call for the Tamil allergy card too.

Allergen labelling in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka regulates food through the Food Act, No. 26 of 1980, and labelling is dealt with in the Food (Labelling and Advertising) Regulations. The 2022 version was published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2319/40, and its start date was later pushed back, as shown in the 2025 postponement gazette.

We could not confirm from the gazette text what allergen declaration the rules require, or whether any duty reaches restaurants, so this page does not state one. That uncertainty is useful information for you: do not plan a meal around an assumed rule.

• Menus: expect dish names without ingredient lists. Treat the absence of an allergen warning as silence, not reassurance.
• Packaged imports: labels may be in English and follow the exporting country's rules. Read them as you would at home, and keep in mind that a local repack may not carry the same wording.
• Local packaged snacks and short eats: if there is no label or the label is not in a language you read, ask the seller and skip it if the answer is vague.

Real dining situations

Rice-and-curry buffets. Several shared dishes sit side by side with serving spoons that drift between them. Show the card at the counter, then ask which curry or sambol uses Maldive fish, which dish has cashews, and whether you can be served from a fresh spoon. Hotel buffets and tourist restaurants in Galle and Ella may be more willing to take requests than a busy lunch canteen.

Short-eats bakeries and tea shops. Patties, rolls and cutlets sit unlabelled in shared trays. Ask what the filling is, whether the pastry is brushed with egg, and whether fish or prawn is used in anything on the tray. If the counter staff cannot answer, choose something else.

Kottu stalls. One griddle cooks every order, and the staff speak Sinhala in the south. Hand over the card before the cook starts chopping, and ask for your portion to be made on a cleaned section of the plate, with fresh utensils. If egg or wheat is your issue, kottu is a hard dish to modify; consider rice instead.

Hotels and guesthouses. A homestay cook will often cook to a written request if told the day before. Leave the card with the host so it reaches the kitchen. Our where to stay in Sri Lanka guide covers choosing accommodation with allergies in mind, and the Colombo airport guide covers your arrival meal.

What happens after you pay, and what to check

You choose your allergens in the card builder, review the wording, and pay once for the Sinhala card. The finished card is emailed to you as a printable PDF with a cut-out version plus an image sized for a phone screen. Cards with up to three allergens can also be added to Apple or Google Wallet. One Language covers a single destination; All Languages covers every language we offer.

Before you travel, run through this short check:

• Confirm the allergens listed on the preview are the ones you need, and add the cross-contact line if traces matter.
• Save the image to your phone and print one paper copy as a backup.
• Screenshot the card, so it opens without a signal in a rural area.
• Keep any prescribed emergency medication with you, in carry-on luggage.

A card is a communication aid, not a guarantee. It cannot make a kitchen safe; it only gives the cook what they need to decide. Read more about whether translation cards work for the honest limits.

Emergency. The free national ambulance service, Suwa Seriya, answers on 1990. Our emergency healthcare guide for Sri Lanka explains what to do in a reaction.

Frequently asked questions

What do you get with the Sinhala allergy card?

A printable PDF with a cut-out card and an image sized for your phone, with each allergen you pick printed in Sinhala script next to its English name. Cards with up to three allergens can also be added to Apple or Google Wallet.

Should I use the Sinhala card or the Tamil card in Sri Lanka?

It depends on who is cooking. Sinhala is the working language in the south, west and central Sinhala-majority areas, including Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Ella. In the Northern and Eastern provinces and many hill-country estate areas, kitchens more often work in Tamil, so the Tamil card is the better match there.

Does Sri Lankan food contain hidden fish?

It can. Dried fish known as Maldive fish is commonly added to sambols and some vegetable and dhal curries, so a dish that sounds vegetarian may not be fish-free. Pick fish on your card and ask staff about each curry and sambol before you eat.

Can I rely on labels or menus to flag allergens in Sri Lanka?

Not by themselves. Menus at small restaurants, short-eats counters and kottu stalls rarely list ingredients, and we could not confirm what Sri Lankan labelling rules require for allergens. Treat a spoken answer and a written card as your safeguard, and avoid anything staff cannot explain.

Who do I call in a medical emergency in Sri Lanka?

The national free ambulance service, Suwa Seriya, is reached on 1990. If you carry prescribed emergency medication, keep it on you rather than in checked luggage.