The gap is not in the ingredients. It is in what anyone is obliged to tell you.
Do not assume a restaurant understands ‘allergy’ in the same way you do. The GB 7718-2025 labelling standard and its scope were checked on 1 November 2026: its legal duty concerns pre-packaged labels, so restaurant food still requires a direct question to the kitchen.
- What was checked
- The dated official and publisher references named in this guide's source section. Each reference explains the specific rule or instruction it supports.
- Known limits
- Prices, opening hours, availability and individual account or document eligibility are not live guarantees. Provider conditions and your actual route, passport, device and circumstances can change the answer.
Ask for the dish without its usual sauce
'Qīng chǎo' means plain stir-fried, but the wok may still start with oyster sauce. Name the sauce you are refusing.
Buddhist restaurants are the surest bet
A restaurant whose identity is vegetarian has no meat stock in the kitchen at all, which is a different guarantee from a vegetable dish on a general menu.
Watch breakfast
Congee and noodles are often cooked in meat or chicken stock, and steamed buns may contain pork even when the name does not say so.
Hotpot needs a separate pot
A divided pot only helps if the mild side is not also a meat broth. Ask for a plain mushroom or tomato base and confirm no bone stock.
Six hidden ingredients worth naming one by one.
Oyster sauce in plain greens, lard in noodles, meat or chicken stock in soup and congee, minced pork in tofu dishes, dried shrimp in fried rice, and fish sauce in some southern cooking. Naming them is faster than explaining a diet.
Prefer a restaurant built around halal food
Northwest noodle shops and Xinjiang restaurants are the everyday reliable options in most cities, because the whole menu is built to one standard.
Read the sign, then ask the kitchen
A halal mark on a general menu is a claim by the operator. Ask whether the meat is supplied halal and whether lard or cooking wine is used.
Cooking wine is the quiet problem
Many stir-fries use shaoxing cooking wine, which contains alcohol. Ask for 'bú yào liào jiǔ' if that matters to you.
Vegetarian is not automatically halal
A vegetarian dish can still be cooked in a wok used for pork. The two requirements need separate questions.
The legal gap, stated plainly
GB 7718-2025 requires eight allergen groups on pre-packaged labels from 16 March 2027. Its scope excludes restaurant food, made-to-order food, loose goods and fresh produce.
Name the oil, not just the food
Peanut oil is a common cooking oil, and soy sauce can contain wheat. An allergy card that names only the solid ingredient misses both.
Ask the kitchen, not only the server
Ask for the card to be taken to the kitchen. A server's confident 'should be fine' is not a kitchen check.
Reduce the number of unknowns
One dish cooked to order in a simple sauce is easier to verify than a mixed stew with a dozen ingredients. Choose the simpler dish when the allergy is severe.
What the labelling standard does and does not cover.
From 16 March 2027, GB 7718-2025 requires eight categories of allergenic substances to be declared on pre-packaged food labels: gluten-containing cereals, crustaceans, fish, eggs, peanuts, soybeans, milk and lactose, and nuts. Sesame and coconut are not in that mandatory list.
The same standard explicitly excludes restaurant food, made-to-order food, loose goods and fresh agricultural produce. 'May contain' warnings remain voluntary. So a menu cannot be read as a declaration, and a kitchen cannot be held to one.
Read the standard announcementUse your own medication first
If you carry a prescribed adrenaline auto-injector, use it as instructed before anything else. Restaurant staff cannot supply one.
Call 120 and say the words that matter
'Hūxī kùnnan' means difficulty breathing, and 'guòmǐn' means allergy. Give the address first, then the symptom.
Go to an emergency department, not a pharmacy
A pharmacy can sell antihistamines for mild reactions. A swollen airway or widespread hives needs a hospital, and hospitals treat first and bill afterwards in an emergency.
Keep the evidence
Photograph the dish, keep the receipt and note the restaurant name. Insurance and any later complaint both need the same three things.
CHINESE HELP CARDS · WRITTEN FOR THESE SITUATIONS
A severe allergy, stated as a medical fact
Replace the blank with one ingredient. Name the oil and the sauce as well as the food itself.
请交给厨房看：本人对 ＿＿ 严重过敏，吃到会危及生命（可能引起呼吸困难）。请确认这道菜不含 ＿＿，也不含其制品（如 ＿＿油、＿＿酱）。炒锅、铲子、案板和餐具请勿与含 ＿＿ 的菜共用。如果厨房无法确认，请如实告诉我，我换一家，谢谢。Vegetarian, including hidden animal fat
Say the three hidden ingredients explicitly. 'Vegetarian' alone is often heard as 'more vegetables'.
您好，我吃全素（不吃肉、鱼、蛋、奶）。请不要放蚝油、不要放猪油、不要用肉汤或鸡汤做底，也不要用虾米和鱼露。清炒时蔬可以只用植物油和盐吗？如果不确定哪几道是素的，请帮我指出来，谢谢。Halal requirements, without ambiguity
Better used to ask whether a kitchen is halal at all than to convert a general restaurant.
您好，我只吃清真食品。请问这家店的肉是清真的吗？有没有不含猪肉、不用猪油、不用料酒的菜？如果厨房不能保证，请直接告诉我，我去找清真餐厅，谢谢。Ask what the broth is made from
Hotpot, noodles and congee all hide their base. This one question covers most of them.
请问汤底是用什么做的？是骨头汤、鸡汤还是清水？有没有放猪油或动物油？我想要清汤（不要骨汤、不要鸡架），可以吗？Ask about the wok, not just the ingredients
Cross-contact is the part a menu never mentions and a kitchen can usually answer.
这道菜的炒锅和铲子，会和含 ＿＿ 的菜共用吗？如果会，能不能先洗锅再炒？如果不能保证，请告诉我，我换一道不需要炒的菜。State a reaction that is already happening
Show this to staff and call 120 yourself. Do not wait for someone to find a doctor.
我出现了严重过敏反应：嘴唇和喉咙肿胀、呼吸困难。请立即帮我拨打120急救电话，并告诉我最近的医院急诊在哪。我有随身药物（肾上腺素笔），请帮我拿过来。Use these cards to explain your dietary needs at the table. They are communication aids, not medical advice; a severe allergy needs a clinician's plan and your own medication.
Does 'bù là' guarantee no chilli?
No. It is a request that may be understood as 'less chilli'. Name chilli, chilli oil and Sichuan pepper separately if all three must be absent.
Is vegan food easy to find?
In large cities, yes—Buddhist restaurants and dedicated vegan cafés exist. Outside them, vegan means negotiating oil, stock and egg dish by dish.
Can I trust a halal sticker?
Treat it as the operator's claim. The most reliable signal is a restaurant whose entire menu is halal, and you can still ask where the meat comes from.
What about gluten?
Wheat flour, soy sauce and cooking wine are the three common sources. There is no gluten-free labelling requirement for restaurant food, so this needs the same direct kitchen question as any allergy.
Is a hotel buffet safer?
It is easier to see the food and to ask a English-speaking staff member, but shared tongs and garnishes create the same cross-contact risk as anywhere else.
Should I carry a printed card?
Yes. A phone screen gets handed around, dimmed and smeared; a printed card survives a kitchen. Keep two copies and photograph them in case one is lost.
Can a restaurant guarantee no traces?
Almost never in a working kitchen. The honest request is a specific answer about ingredients and shared equipment, then your own decision about the risk.
Official and publisher references used in this guide
These are external references. They are not live availability, price, approval or service guarantees, and each date marks the point after which a rule may have changed.
GB 7718-2025: pre-packaged food labelling standard, published with 50 related standards
The standard that makes eight categories of allergenic substances mandatory on pre-packaged food labels, and the same standard whose scope is pre-packaged food only. Restaurant dishes, made-to-order food and loose goods are outside it, which is exactly why a menu carries no legal allergen declaration.
Digital labels for pre-packaged food: implementation announcement
Explains that a QR code can carry the same label information as the printed panel. A digital label is an additional access route, not permission for a shop to hide ingredients, and it still applies to pre-packaged food rather than restaurant cooking.
Food safety: five keys and the burden of foodborne illness
General food-safety principles that travel with you regardless of country. It is not a judgment about any specific restaurant in China and cannot certify that a particular dish is safe for you.
Common emergency numbers: 110, 119, 120, 122
Police 110, fire 119, ambulance 120, traffic accident 122. These are the numbers to keep on a phone lock screen; they are not a translation service and do not replace the local emergency instructions at a site.
12315: consumer complaint and report channel
The official route for a consumer dispute over a meal, a delivery order or a purchase. It records a complaint; it does not order a refund, send an inspector to your table, or act as an emergency line.
Updates and corrections
The dates above apply only to the checks described here. Recheck current prices, opening hours, availability and account or document eligibility with the responsible provider before you rely on them. When an official rule changes, the affected guidance and its review date should be updated. To report a specific change, email support@slowchinaguide.com with the place, date and current source.
Send a correctionWhat this guide does and does not do
This guide turns practical questions and dated references into steps you can follow. It is not a booking service, a live price list or a substitute for a clinician, a lawyer or the staff responsible for your actual situation.
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