By law a food business must tell you about ingredients in their food that might affect you if you have a food allergy.
How should a food business tell you about allergens?
Businesses can tell you about allergens in one of two ways:
- a business can provide allergen information in writing such as on a menu, a label or ticket by the food or;
- the business can tell you what is in the food. If they do this, they must display a notice advising you that allergen information is available if you ask for it. They can display the notice on a wall or a menu
What if I order food over the phone or online?
Business must still give you information about allergens in their food. They need to do this when you order and when the food is delivered.
What allergens must food businesses tell me about?
The law states that there are 14 allergens which businesses must tell you about. These are:
- Cereals containing gluten
- Peanuts
- Nuts
- Milk
- Soya
- Mustard
- Lupin
- Eggs
- Fish
- Crustaceans
- Molluscs
- Sesame Seeds
- Celery
- Sulphur Dioxide (sulphites)
What about other allergens?
The law only requires food businesses to declare the 14 allergens in the list above.
Customers can be allergic to other ingredients in foods. If you ask for a food without other ingredients the business must check that the food does not contain those ingredients and is safe for you to eat.
What can you do as a consumer?
All consumers can ask a food business for information about the ingredients in their food.
What if a business can’t provide information about allergens on request?
If a business can’t provide allergen information or if you think the information provided is wrong, then contact the national Citizens Advice consumer helpline
You can contact them on 0808 223 1133 (freephone) or visit citizensadvice.org.uk