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Allergens in restaurants: the FSA’s 2025 advice ​

Every food business in the UK has to tell customers when a dish contains any of the 14 regulated allergens. For food you cook and plate to order, the law still allows you to give that information verbally, as long as a sign tells customers to ask. In February 2025 the Food Standards Agency published best practice guidance on how to do it well: Allergen information for non-prepacked foods. It applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is not a new law (“you are not required by law to follow best practice guidance”). It describes what customers with an allergy told the FSA works best for them.

The 14 allergens ​

Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats), crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts (almond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan, Brazil nut, pistachio, macadamia), celery, mustard, sesame, sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10 mg/kg, lupin, and molluscs. The guidance lists a few exceptions for specific products.

Written information, backed by a conversation ​

The FSA’s model has two halves.

Written. Make allergen information easy to get in writing, covering all 14 allergens, not just the ones you think matter most. Ideally it is there without the customer having to ask, for example a “Contains” line under each dish or an allergen matrix. If you keep it on request instead, put a notice on the menu saying so. If you use symbols, show a key with each allergen’s name in words.

A conversation. Staff should ask every customer whether they have any allergen requirements. Where you cannot ask everyone, a sign or a line on the menu should invite customers to tell you.

From the order to the kitchen ​

This is the step the guidance is most specific about.

  • When the person taking the order is not the person cooking it, or the order is placed digitally, the allergy should reach the cook in writing, and there should be confirmation that they have received and understood it.
  • A dish made to meet an allergy should be easy to identify on its way out: a label on the container or a flag on the food. The server should confirm it to the guest when serving (“here is the pasta with no milk”).
  • When you change a dish for an allergy, take steps to minimise cross-contamination.

Online, phone and delivery orders ​

For orders placed at a distance, written allergen information should be available before the customer orders and again on delivery, for example a sticker on the container or a menu with the order. Where you cannot keep online information accurate, the guidance says staff should give it by phone instead.

Natasha’s Law is a different rule ​

Food that is prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) has a legal labelling duty, in force since 1 October 2021: the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with the allergens emphasised. PPDS means food packed on your premises before the customer chooses it, such as sandwiches made in the morning and wrapped for the chiller. Food you plate or pack to order is not PPDS and follows the rules above. The FSA’s introduction to PPDS labelling has a decision tool if you are not sure which applies. Our Natasha’s Law guide covers the labels in detail.

A short checklist ​

  • Record the allergens in every dish, from full ingredient lists, and update them when a supplier or recipe changes.
  • Have written information for all 14, and a notice if it is on request.
  • Ask every guest, or show a sign inviting them to tell you.
  • Pass allergies to the kitchen in writing; make allergy dishes identifiable.
  • For delivery and online orders: written information before ordering and with the food.
  • Train your staff, and keep a record that you did.

How this works in Yumee POS ​

In Yumee POS, when a guest mentions an allergy, your staff flag it on the order, and it prints on the kitchen ticket and shows on the kitchen display, so it reaches the cook in writing rather than relying on someone’s memory. With the Inventory add-on, you record allergens on each ingredient and print allergen labels built from your recipes.

The online ordering site does not list allergens dish by dish. It asks guests with an allergy to call you before they order. If you keep your allergen information as a document or a web page, we can link it from your ordering site: guests then see “View allergen information” on the menu’s information page and at checkout, before they pay. Either way, the written information itself has to come from you, as the guidance describes. Food safety records (opening and closing checks, fridge and probe temperatures, date labels) will come with Yumee Compliance, which is launching soon.

Sources ​

In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland publishes its own guidance. This guide is general information; your local authority’s food safety team can advise on your own business.