The new allergens labelling law came into effect on the 13th December 2014
What is it all about?
With the new food law, all food providers serving unpackaged food or food that is packaged on site for immediate consumption, will have to supply details of the menu items that contain the EU Top 14 allergens within the dishes they serve.
This covers foods sold loose (such as from a deli counter), in catering establishments or, sold pre-packed for direct sale (such as bread or cakes in a bakery or sandwiches from a sandwich bar). The way in which the information has to be provided is not defined and each country can provide guidance and advice to businesses on how such information could be provided.
What are the allergens?
- Cereals containing gluten such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt or khorasan
- Crustaceans for example prawns, crabs, lobster, crayfish
- Eggs
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Milk
- Nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia (or Queensland) nuts
- Celery (including celeriac)
- Mustard
- Sesame seeds
- Sulphur dioxide (>10mg/kg or 10mg/L)
- Lupin
- Mollusc for example clams, mussels, whelks, oysters, snails and squid
Why?
The law is to help customers make the safe right choices when eating or drinking out, the same way that food is labelled in a supermarket or shop
To link to the Food Standards Agency website, click here: