For someone with an allergy, a tiny amount of a food can cause a serious reaction. That is why the law requires allergen information and steps to keep allergens out of food where they should not be.
The 14 allergens that must be declared
- Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut)
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Milk (including lactose)
- Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamias)
- Celery
- Mustard
- Sesame seeds
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (over 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l)
- Lupin
- Molluscs
Products made from them count too: wheat flour, soy sauce, butter, surimi… Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists some exceptions, such as wheat-based glucose syrups or fully refined soybean oil.
How customers are informed
- Prepacked food: allergens appear in the list of ingredients emphasised (different font, style or background colour). If there is no list, with the word «contains» (contiene).
- Non-prepacked food (bars, restaurants, canteens, bakeries, delis, takeaways): allergen information is also mandatory. In Spain, how it is given is set by Royal Decree 126/2015; your employer must have the information for each dish or product.
- «Gluten-free» may only be used if the food contains 20 mg/kg of gluten or less.
Keeping allergens where they belong
Since Regulation (EU) 2021/382, Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 says that equipment, containers and transport used with an allergen must not be used for food that does not contain it unless they have been cleaned and checked, at least for the absence of visible traces.
- Prepare dishes for people with allergies with clean utensils and surfaces, and keep them covered and separate.
- Frying oil is equipment too: if battered fish is fried in the fryer, chips fried afterwards may contain fish and gluten.
- If you change an ingredient or a brand, the dish's allergen information may change: tell whoever keeps it up to date.
When a customer asks
Never answer «I don't think it has any». Check the dish's information and, if you are not sure, say so and ask your manager or the kitchen. «I'm not sure, let me check» is far better than an allergic reaction.
Source: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, Articles 9, 21 and 44 and Annex II · Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs (consolidated text), Annex II, Chapter IX, point 9 · Regulation (EU) 2021/382 (allergens, food redistribution and food safety culture) · AESAN, «Labelling of substances causing allergies and intolerances» (in Spanish)