Allergens and labelling for food business operators
Advice for food business operators
Businesses have a legal obligation to supply information to consumers on the allergens that are in the food that they serve and sell.
Consumers may be allergic or have intolerance to other ingredients, but only the 14 allergens are required to be declared as allergens by food law: Food Standards Agency - Allergy and intolerance. This also applies to additives, processing aids and any other substances which are present in the final product.
The 14 allergens are:
- celery
- cereals containing gluten (such as barley and oats)
- crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters)
- eggs
- fish
- lupin
- milk
- molluscs (such as mussels and oysters)
- mustard
- peanuts
- sesame
- soybeans
- sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if they are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million), and
- tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).
The information can be given to consumers in a variety of ways, including chalk boards, tickets, menus or orally. The information needs to be available before the consumer purchases the food.
Packed food also requires labelling. Food packed on the premises where it is sold is called food Pre-Packed for Direct Sale (PPDS).
Who to notify about allergen concerns
This role is split between the local authority responsible for food safety and Trading Standards officers, covering the area where the food was obtained. Officers from Trading Standards and the local authority will liaise regarding concerns raised.
Trading Standards officers have a duty to enforce the labelling regulations.
More information
The Food Standards Agency and Suffolk Trading Standards can provide you with more information.
The Food Standards Agency has produced:
- guidance on the signage required
- free allergen training Food standards Agency - Allergy training for food businesses
- videos
- Food Standards Agency - Prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) allergen labelling changes for fast food and takeaway restaurants - video and toolkit
- requirements for selling loose food, and
- technical guidance on allergen labelling for catering establishments.
This information can be found at:
- Food Standards Agency - Allergen Information for Non-Prepacked Foods Best Practice: Introduction
- Food Standards Agency - Allergen guidance for food businesses
- Suffolk County Council - Suffolk Trading Standards - Working with food, which includes a link to a downloadable allergen matrix.