Field guide for restaurant owners
Field guide for restaurant ownersThe 14 EU allergens, explained in plain language
Know which allergens the law covers, where they hide, and how to tell your guests clearly. This guide walks you through both the dishes and the rules, with no legalese.
If you serve food in the EU, naming these 14 allergens is both legally required and part of good hospitality.
These allergens hide in more places than most menus admit. This page explains the 14, the law behind them, and how to declare them clearly - plain and practical, so you can act on it today.
Why it matters
Safe guests are the ones who come back.
A reaction can be serious
For some guests, a hidden trace is not a preference - it can send them to hospital.
Trust is hospitality
Get it right and people relax. Clear allergen info is part of a warm welcome, not red tape.
It is the law
The restaurant is the responsible food business operator, so the duty sits with you, not your supplier.
The reference
Meet the fourteen
These are the allergens named in Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. It is a fixed, closed list - you do not choose which to track, and every dish that contains one has to say so.
Allergen 01
Cereals with gluten
- Commonly in
- Bread, pasta, pizza dough, cakes, pastry, batter, breadcrumbs, couscous, beer, and most flour-thickened sauces and gravies.
- Hides in
- Soy sauce (usually wheat-fermented), stock cubes and gravy granules, malt vinegar, some sausages and ice creams (rusk or wheat filler), and spice blends.
- Remember
- Oats are gluten-free by nature but nearly always cross-contaminated in milling. Do not treat a plain oat dish as safe for coeliacs unless it is certified gluten-free.
Tap any of the 14 to see where it hides. The examples are a starting point - always check your own recipes and supplier specs.
3 that catch kitchens out
3 that catch kitchens out- Peanut oil always counts as peanut, refined or not. Only fully refined soybean oil is exempt, so never extend that to peanut, groundnut or arachis oil.
- Oats are naturally gluten-free but almost always cross-contaminated in milling. Treat plain oats as gluten unless they are certified gluten-free.
- Soy lecithin (E322) sits in a huge share of chocolate, spreads and baked goods, so check supplier sheets, not just the visible ingredients.
The law, briefly
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
The rules come from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, often called the Food Information to Consumers Regulation, or FIC. As an EU Regulation it applies directly in every member state, including Romania, with no local version needed.
It has applied since 13 December 2014. Article 9 lists the information food must carry, Article 21 covers how allergens are emphasised on packaged food, and Annex II is the list of the 14 allergens themselves.
For food served loose - the meals you cook to order - Article 44 makes allergen information mandatory but leaves the method to each country. Penalties are set nationally too, under each country's own food-safety law, not by the Regulation itself.
What it asks of you
- Names 14 allergens you must declare
- Applies to both menus and labels
- Covers prepacked and loose, served food
- Must be accurate and kept up to date
One you may have heard of, the UK's Natasha's Law, is a UK rule from 2021 - stricter than the EU baseline, and not part of EU law at all.
How to declare it
Turn the duty into a simple routine
These 4 steps take you from a pile of recipes to allergen information a guest can trust.
- 01Build one source of truthMark which of the 14 each dish contains, pulled from your recipes and supplier specs. Keep it in one place so kitchen and floor always agree.
- 02Put it where guests see itShow it in writing by default: on the menu, on a clear chart, or on a digital menu. Written beats relying on someone to remember.
- 03Train your teamFront-of-house should read from the record and know when to check with the kitchen rather than guess. Accurate answers, every time.
- 04Keep it currentEvery recipe tweak or new supplier can add or remove an allergen. Update the record the moment something changes.
Re-check whenever a recipe or a supplier changes - that is where most menus quietly go out of date.
Where the info goes
Prepacked vs loose food
The same 14 allergens, declared in different places depending on how the food is sold. This is the mix-up we see most.
Prepacked, packaged food
Ingredients
Wheat flour, water, rapeseed oil, egg, sugar, milk, salt, barley malt.
Allergens emphasised inside the ingredients list.
- Sold in the packaging it was put in before being ordered, like a bottled sauce.
- Needs a full ingredients list, with the 14 allergens emphasised in it (Article 21).
- Also carries the other label details: name, quantity and durability date.
Food served loose
- Meals you cook to order and serve, plus food packed on site when a guest asks.
- No printed ingredients list required, but allergen information is mandatory (Article 44).
- Given the way your country allows, and always accurate and easy to get before ordering.
In the kitchen
Cross-contact and “may contain”
Declaring allergens that are ingredients is one job. Cross-contact is another - an allergen moving by accident through shared fryers, boards or knives. A trace is enough, so “may contain” is only honest after you have looked at the real risk and cannot remove it.
Where a QR menu helps
One edit, current on every table
Printed menus and laminated charts share one weak spot: keeping them current. A digital menu removes that. You tag each dish once, and an edit reaches every guest straight away - no reprint.
- Tag the 14 allergens per dish, once
- Guests filter the menu to what is safe for them
- Always the current version, in their own language
Honest about the limits: a QR menu does not make your data correct or replace staff training. It fixes stale information, which is the most common thing that goes wrong.
See how SafestMenu handles allergens
The allergen information journey
Allergen info is a flow with 4 hand-offs. Your menu - and a tool like SafestMenu - sits at the point where it reaches the guest.
- The dishWhat's really in it, down to the sauce
- The recordEach dish mapped to the 14
- SafestMenuThe menuShown to the guest, on paper or screen
- The guestMakes a choice they can trust
Common questions
Quick answers
How many allergens do I have to declare?
All 14. EU law sets a fixed list in Annex II of Regulation 1169/2011, and every dish that contains one has to say so. You can flag other things guests ask about, but the 14 are the legal minimum.
Can I just tell guests to ask a member of staff?
It depends on your country. Some member states allow allergen information on request, if a clear sign points guests to ask and staff give accurate answers. Others, like France, require it in writing. Writing it down is the safer default everywhere.
Does Natasha's Law apply to my restaurant?
Only if you are in the UK. Natasha's Law is a UK rule from 1 October 2021 for food packed on site before a guest orders it, and it is stricter than the EU baseline. It does not apply in Romania or the rest of the EU.
Is peanut oil exempt from being declared?
No. Peanut oil counts as peanut whether it is refined or not, so it always has to be declared. Only fully refined soybean oil has that exemption, and groundnut and arachis oil are just other names for peanut oil.
Who is responsible if the allergen information is wrong?
You are. The restaurant is the food business operator, so the duty to give accurate information sits with you, even if a supplier changed a recipe without telling you. That is why one current record matters.
Does a QR menu keep me compliant on its own?
No, and we would not claim it does. A digital menu keeps your allergen information current across every table at once, but the data is only as good as what you put in. You still need trained staff and a real cross-contact process in the kitchen.
A note on this guide
This is general guidance to help you get organised, not legal advice. National rules under Article 44 differ across the EU and get updated, so check the rules where you operate, or ask your national food-safety authority.
Put your allergens on a menu guests can trust
Tag the 14 allergens per dish, update once, and every guest sees the change at the table. You keep one record that stays current, and guests filter the menu to what is safe for them.
Try SafestMenu free