Not all dietary needs are the same. We treat them differently.
A nut allergy and a vegetarian preference are fundamentally different constraints. Pantrimo models them differently so your meal plans are both accurate and enjoyable.
Two types of constraints
Pantrimo uses an explicit constraint classification system. Every dietary filter is either a safety constraint or a preference constraint. This distinction drives how recipes are filtered and ranked.
Safety Constraints — Block
Safety constraints keep recipes that contain a person's allergen out of their meal plan. If a household member has a nut-free safety constraint, a recipe with nuts is flagged as containing them, with the ingredient named. When the answer depends on a brand, Pantrimo tells you which label to check.
Used for: allergen avoidance, ingredient intolerances
Preference Constraints — Rank
Preference constraints affect sort order, not visibility. Recipes that match preferences are ranked higher. Recipes that do not match still appear — they are just ranked lower.
Used for: lifestyle choices, taste preferences
Safety constraints
Gluten-Free
Blocks recipes containing wheat, barley, rye, and other gluten sources. Applied as a hard filter — incompatible recipes are not just ranked lower.
Dairy-Free
Blocks recipes containing milk, cheese, butter, cream, and other dairy products. Ensures no dairy-containing recipe reaches someone who cannot have it.
Nut-Free
Blocks recipes containing peanuts and tree nuts (almonds, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc.). Both peanut and tree-nut avoidance are combined under one constraint.
Preference constraints
Vegetarian
Ranks recipes without meat, poultry, or fish higher in results. Does not hard-block — non-vegetarian recipes still appear but are ranked lower. This reflects that a preference is different from a safety requirement.
The EU's allergen list, for reference
EU Annex II (Regulation 1169/2011) names these allergens for declaration on packaged food, and the list includes the FDA Big 9. It is a regulatory reference, not a list of what Pantrimo checks. Pantrimo checks recipe ingredients for eggs, milk, wheat, peanuts and tree nuts and names the ingredient behind each answer.
Set your family's dietary filters in minutes.
Safety and preference constraints are configured per person. Pantrimo handles the rest.