Travelling gluten free in Serbia

Are you going on a holiday to Serbia and looking for the best gluten-free spots? Look no further! We have gathered all necessary information for gluten free in Serbia in one easy overview.

An overview

In recent years, the awareness of celiac disease and gluten-free diet in Serbia has been significantly better than in the previous period.  Larger offer gluten free products in stores and restaurants are increasingly willing to offer gluten free meals. However, it is still a recommendation to be careful when eating out, to avoid risky foods, ie those for which you do not know the exact ingredients, and to explain your special requirements when ordering in a restaurant. For an explanation in Serbian, you can use the following statement:

Serbian coeliac dietary explanation

Serbian:

Imam celijakiju i moram da se se pridržavam dijete bez glutena. Ne mogu da jedem hranu koja sadrži čak ni najmanje količine pšenice, raži, ječma ili ovsa odnosno zobi. Da li na svom meniju imate gluten-free  jela odnosno jela bez pšenice, raži, ječma i ovsa odnosno zobi?

Hvala na pomoći.

English:

I have coeliac disease and have to follow a strict gluten-free diet. I cannot eat food that contains even the smallest amounts of wheat, rye, barley or oats. Do you have gluten-free dishes on your menu, ie dishes without wheat, rye, barley and oats? Thank you for your help.

Where to buy gluten-free food in Serbia

Almost in all stores in Serbia  is possible to find some of the gluten free products. In some stores there are special sections “healthy food” where in addition to organic you can find gluten free products. However, the choice of gluten free products is not large, in larger cities and supermarkets the choice is greater, while in smaller places the choice is minimal and reduced to basic flour, pasta or ready-made bread. Also, most of these products are imported, so their price is significantly higher.

Look for gluten free products in stores:Mercator, Idea, Roda, Maxi, Tempo, Aroma, Univerexport, Lidl, dm.

In the mentioned stores and in all pharmacies in Serbia, it is possible to buy gluten free flour Schär Mix B and Schär Mix C, because celiac patients in Serbia receive this flour on a doctor’s prescription in the amount of 7 kg per month.

Small health food stores are also popular in Serbia, but we recommend caution when shopping, since these small stores usually sell home-made, hand-made food and food in bulk, for which there is no guarantee that it will be protected from contamination.

Gluten-free restaurants and hotels in Serbia

Gluten free food can be ordered with a little waiting in almost all Belgrade hotels.  There is one specialized gluten-free restaurant in Belgrade  http://www.masarestaurant.rs/. But we suggest caution, since no restaurant has been certified yet.

With high security in the restaurant you can order:

-baking

-steaks

-barbecue (except minced meat grill)

which with a seasonal salad will probably be an appropriate meal for someone who has celiac disease.

Avoid:

-soups, soups, stews, fish soups that usually contain gluten

-cooked dishes-beans, cabbage, peas because they are usually prepared with a powder, ie thickened with flour

-Add further about potato dishes that are often prepared with flour and egg toppings

Gluten-free labelling

Food products declaration in Serbia is subject to regulation  that are identical to  the EU regulation. This means that the manufacturer is obliged to list 14 mandatory allergens if they are in the product and to list them in bold.

The manufacturer has the right to state in words that the product is gluten free, which is written in Serbian“bez glutena”. If the product contains gluten, in Serbian it will be indicated by the words  “sadrži gluten”or “može da sadrži gluten u tragovima”.

In Serbian stores  you can find products marked with the crossed grain trade mark(CGT)  imported from the EU (most products are from Italy, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, and more or less from Spain, Hungary, Germany…. But no products from the UK, Sweden, Finland , Norway).

The Serbian Coeliac Society USZC  is included in licencign  domestic producers CGT, and you can find a list of domestic gluten-free producers can be found  our website:  www.celijakija.rs

Serbian Coeliac Association

Udruženje Srbije za celijakiju

Our website: www.celijakija.rs

You can contact us using e-mail: celijakija@gmail.com

Last update of this Travel Net information: January 2021