For someone on a gluten free diet, travel in Argentina is a delight. Not only are the staple foods celiac-friendly, but all products list whether or not they contain gluten. This includes; candy, spices, ice cream, yogurt, beverages, condiments, ect. Its also widely understood when you say “soy celiaco/a” (I´m a celiac) or “sin trigo” (without wheat).
Grocery stores don’t seem to carry much, but dieteticos, which are Argentinian health food stores carry a variety of goods. The bigger cities have a wider variety of GF products but most carried some kind of cookies and pasta. The best store I discovered was Dietitico Viamonte in Buenos Aires which carried many kinds of GF bread, cookies, crackers, pasta, cereal, and even empanadas!
Gluten free goods in Buenos Aires:
Dietitico Viamonte
Viamonte 859, Buenos Aires
www.dieteticaviamonte.com.ar
The best variety of gluten free good I´ve seen in all of Argentina
Munchies Ice Cream
Several locations
Lists which ice cream is gluten free right on the board. Make sure to ask “necessito plastico” to ensure you get a plastic cup rather than a cone.
Simona
Humboldt 1551, Buenos Aires
www.simonaristorante.com.ar
Italian restaurant located in Palermo that has a gluten-free menu
Gluten free goods in Cordoba:
El Colmenar Dietetica
27 de Abril 61 | Phone: (0351) 411-2996
elcolmenardietetica@hotmail.com
Some gluten free food items
Grandiet
Av. Emilio Olmos 66
Specialty foods
Dieti-Con
Rivadavia 251 | Phone: 421-6354
Specialty foods
Celiac Associations in Argentina
Asistencia al Celiaco de la Argentina
http://www.geocities.com/acelanqn/
Asociacion Celiaca Argentina
http://www.celiaco.org.ar/uk.asp
Asociacion en pro de al de Ayuda Celacio
Phone: 54-351-423-9217
Fundacion Celiaca Argentina “ANCAS”
Phone: (0351) 473-1100
Email: celiacoscordona@yahoo.com
Language Cards
A good bet for someone who doesn’t speak Spanish is to get a language card which explains your food needs. Here is a link to some free printable language cards:
http://www.celiactravel.com/gluten-free-cards/04-argentinian.html
Useful Words to Know
celíaco/a………celiac
para celiacos…… for celiacs
gluten………gluten
sin T.A.C.C………….gluten free (an abbreviation for four cereals that contain gluten, usually used to label gluten free foods)
trigo…………wheat
Links
- http://www.glutenfreeguidebook.com/tag/argentina/
- http://argentinarocks.blogspot.com/2008/02/gluten-free-in-buenos-aires.html
Enjoy your time in Agentina! Its a beautiful country with lots of options for the Celiac/GF traveler. Please feel free to message me with any new resources and I’ll add them to this list. Safe Travels!