Take Away and Plastic Packaging in Restaurants? Take away service has grown exponentially at restaurants in Faro, Albufeira and Loulé — and not only through home delivery platforms. Many Algarve establishments now offer takeaway meals as a natural extension of their dine-in service, especially during high season, when the volume of tourists exceeds indoor seating capacity.
Take Away and Plastic Packaging in Algarve Restaurants: A Growing Service With Its Own Rules
This growth has raised new questions about permitted materials, transport temperatures and applicable legal obligations. This article answers the most frequent questions.
Is Plastic Packaging Permitted for Take Away?
Yes — using plastic packaging for take away food is perfectly legal, including at restaurants in Faro, Albufeira and Loulé.
What the law requires is not the absence of plastic, but that packaging coming into direct or indirect contact with food be sufficiently inert to exclude the transfer of substances to food in quantities capable of endangering human health or bringing about an unacceptable change in the composition, texture, smell, taste or colour of the food.
In practical terms, this means:
- Packaging must be approved for food contact (identified with the “glass and fork” symbol or the wording “for food contact”)
- The material must be suitable for the type of food and its temperature at the time of packaging — packaging suitable for cold food may not be suitable for hot food
- Packaging must not release harmful substances into food, regardless of temperature
Temperature: The Critical Factor in Take Away Packaging
This is where most restaurants in Albufeira, Faro and Loulé make mistakes with potential health risks:
- Low-quality plastic packaging approved for cold food may release harmful compounds when exposed to hot food (soups, stews, fried food)
- In the Algarve summer, with ambient temperatures that can exceed 35°C, food incorrectly packaged in containers not suited to the temperature degrades faster
Practical rule: Always check the recommended usage temperature stated in the specifications of take away packaging before using it with hot food.
Meals Prepared Outside the Restaurant: Can They Be Served?
This is a frequent question among restaurants in Albufeira and Faro that outsource part of their production or receive dishes already prepared by central kitchens:
Yes, it’s permitted — but under clear conditions. Meals served at a restaurant may be produced outside the establishment, provided they come from a duly authorised establishment for that purpose — namely a unit with a licensed catering activity.
What is not permitted is for meals to come from the restaurant owner’s private home or from an unauthorised establishment. A restaurant in Loulé cannot serve desserts made at the home of a contracted pastry chef, however artisanal and genuine they may be.
Donating Cooked Food: What the Law Allows
At restaurants in Faro, Albufeira and Loulé with surplus production — especially in summer, when occupancy forecasts are hard to get right — donating food is increasingly common and socially and environmentally desirable.
Donating cooked meals is permitted when they were not served and were not exposed to sources of contamination (that is, not plated for customers and returned to the kitchen).
To be eligible for donation, food must:
- Have been produced in accordance with applicable food law requirements
- Not have been subject to sources of contamination after cooking
- Be transported and delivered under suitable temperature conditions
Note: Table leftovers — food that has already been served to customers and returned to the kitchen — cannot be reused, either for preparing other dishes or for donation.
Roadside Grills: Are They Permitted?
This is a specific situation relevant to Algarve restaurants operating in areas of high tourist footfall — Albufeira, Faro, Loulé, Portimão:
Yes, it’s permitted for a food and beverage operator to place grills in a public thoroughfare — provided the Câmara Municipal has granted specific authorisation for that purpose.
This authorisation is separate from the establishment’s licensing and must be requested independently, stating the exact location, the equipment’s dimensions and the period of use.
Street Vending of Food Products in the Algarve
Street vending of vegetables, food products and pastry items (including the famous “bolas de Berlim” doughnuts on Algarve beaches) is permitted — but restricted to locations designated and regulated by the Câmaras Municipais.
To operate legally as a street vendor in the Algarve:
- A specific street vending licence issued by the Câmara Municipal (Faro, Albufeira, Loulé or another)
- Products sold must come from duly licensed manufacturing establishments
- Transport conditions must be suitable for the hygiene and temperature of the products
ASAE and the Câmaras Municipais have the authority to inspect street vending activity, including on Algarve beaches during high season.
FAQ: Take Away and Packaging in Algarve Restaurants
Can I use cardboard boxes for take away at my restaurant in Albufeira?
Yes, provided the cardboard is approved for food contact and suitable for the temperature of the food it holds.
Is take away plastic packaging affected by single-use plastics legislation?
The SUP (Single Use Plastics) Directive limits or bans certain single-use plastics. In Portugal, it has been transposed by Decreto-Lei n.º 73/2021. Some items (plastic cups, straws, disposable cutlery) are banned or subject to restrictions — check the specifications of the packaging you use with your supplier.
Can my restaurant in Faro serve desserts made by a local pastry chef who works from home?
No, unless that pastry chef has a duly licensed establishment for food production. Unauthorised home production cannot be served in restaurants.
Take Away and Packaging Compliance — Fiscal Control Algarve
Fiscal Control supports restaurants in Faro, Albufeira and Loulé with compliance reviews of their take away, catering and food packaging operations.