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Advice on food allergens
Advice on the major allergenic ingredients food businesses must provide and how they should be listed.
What the law says
By law, food business must provide information about 14 major allergenic ingredients used in any food they sell or serve. This applies to food businesses that sell or serve loose food, such as:
- meals in a café or restaurant
- food they wrap themselves such as loose bread rolls, sandwiches, cakes, deli products and takeaways
- institutional catering (eg in schools, hospitals and care homes)
The 14 allergens to identify
- celery
- cereals containing gluten
- crustaceans
- eggs
- fish
- lupin
- milk
- molluscs
- mustard
- nuts
- peanuts
- sesame
- soya
- sulphur dioxide (sometimes known as sulphites)
How allergens must be listed
Details of the allergens must be clearly listed in an obvious place such as:
- label
- menu
- blackboard
- information pack
If allergen information is not provided upfront, customers must be signposted to where it could be obtained, either in a written or oral format.
More information can be found on the Food Standards Agency website and you may also find our related links useful.
