Allergens and labelling for consumers
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. 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 of Direct Sale (PPDS).
Who to contact if you have concerns about labelling or selling of foods containing allergens
Trading Standards have a duty to enforce the labelling regulations and you can report concerns to them Report an issue to Suffolk County Council - Trading Standards
If the concern regarding allergens does not relate to labelling the role is split between the West Suffolk Council and Suffolk Trading Standards. Officers will liaise regarding concerns raised with their respective local authority.
Additional advice on current allergen alerts is available from the Food Standards Agency. You can sign up to receive the Food Standards Agency’s Allergen alerts.