Allergens and calories on your menu

This is a general guide for restaurants in the UK, not legal advice. Rules change and differ between countries, so check the current wording with your local authority or the Food Standards Agency before you rely on it.

The 14 allergens

Food businesses must be able to tell customers when a dish contains any of 14 listed allergens, such as milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, gluten, fish, shellfish and sulphites. The information has to be accurate and easy to find, whether it is written down or given by a trained member of staff.

Natasha's Law

Since October 2021, food that is made and packed on the same premises and sold to customers directly, such as a sandwich in a cafe, needs a full ingredient list with the allergens highlighted on the label. A dish that is cooked to order and served at the table is not covered in the same way, but you still need to tell customers about allergens.

Calorie labelling

In England, large food businesses with 250 or more employees have had to show calories on menus since April 2022. Smaller restaurants are not required to, though some choose to show calories anyway because customers ask for them.

Keep it in one place

The common mistake is keeping allergen information in a folder at the back and a different copy on the menu. The safer habit is to hold it once, against each dish, and let every screen read from it.

How DineHarbor helps

In DineHarbor you can add calories and allergens to each menu item, and they show on your ordering site and customer app. When you change a recipe, you change it in one place. The software does not replace your own checks with suppliers.