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Travel To Barcelona, Spain? Help With Gluten-Free Labeling

kb27

By kb27
in Traveling with Celiac Disease

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kb27 Apprentice
kb27
Posted

We are moving to Spain for 4-5 months this spring, and I have a 9-yr-old who has celiac. We have managed travel around the U.S. thanks to tracking down gluten-free-friendly restaurants on the internet and packing a lot of Udi's bread and PB&J. But I don't know what to look for on labels in Spain. Can anyone recommend a place to go to find a list of "gluten" ingredients in Spanish? Is there a gluten-free labeling scheme there?

And does anyone have recommendations for gluten-free restaurants/shops in Barcelona?

Thanks!

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love2travel Mentor
love2travel
Posted

How absolutely exciting! I adore Europe and am moving there someday, too. I am not familiar with gluten-free stuff in Spain but I recommend your researching the Spanish words for wheat, barley, oats, rye, gluten, gluten free and so on. Also print out Spanish restaurant cards to take with you when eating out. When we travel to foreign countries I print out the cards and laminate them and memorize many key words/phrases.

I imagine there are lots of gluten-free products in shops such as DM. Look for Schar brand. Their ciabatta rolls and crispy bread sticks are my favourites. These products are what I buy when in Europe (though I detest their breads many other things are tasty with good texture).

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ETA: You are in luck. Looks as though there are many places you can purchase Schar products in Spain...

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Don't forget to take along plenty of snacks for airports, flights and plan for delays - they seem inevitable.

gatita Enthusiast
gatita
Posted

Also, I don't know specific restaurants, but a friend who traveled to Barcelona a few years ago said many restaurants have special gluten-free menus. Look for menus marked "Para Celiacos" :)

  • 2 months later...
kb27 Apprentice
kb27
Posted
  • Author

I wanted to report back in case anyone else is traveling to Barcelona. We have been here just over a week now. It's very very easy to find gluten food in stores. Most of the grocery stores have a dedicated "special diet" area with gluten free (and lactose free and sugar free, etc.) foods. I've seen foods labeled both "sin gluten" and "sensa gluten". Even the local market has meats and croquets, etc. in a special gluten-free case.

The biggest gluten-free selection is at health food stores. They often have the name "ecologic" or some variant of that in their name. The one closest to us has, what my son refers to as "The wall of Schar". It's great. They also have frozen gluten-free pizzas and cakes.

We haven't ventured out to many restaurants yet, because we're taking it one step at a time. But so far they seem to be much more celiac aware than where we live in the states. One of the schools we are looking at for my son actually offers gluten-free menus in their cafeteria.

GermanUSAfan Newbie
GermanUSAfan
Posted

I wasnt in Spain since I got my celiac disease. But friends told me, that you can order gluten-free burgers in every McDonald in Spain. They have gluten-free buns there. In German McDs the staff dont even know, what gluten is. So I think in Spain people are better informed, than in most other european countrys.

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