The 14 Allergens: A Complete Reference for UK Food Producers

The fourteen you have to know by heart

Under UK food law, there are 14 allergens that must be declared whenever they're present in your food, whether as an ingredient or a processing aid. Every food producer needs to know them, not just as a list to recite, but understanding what each covers and where it can hide, because the consequences of missing one can be fatal.

This is a reference you can come back to. Here are all 14, what each includes, and the points producers most often get wrong.

The legal basis

The requirement comes from the Food Information to Consumers Regulation (1169/2011), retained in Great Britain law and known as the FIC. It places a duty on every food business to ensure that information on these 14 allergens is accurate, available, and easily accessible to the consumer. The list is fixed in law; it's not a matter of opinion about what's "allergenic."

The 14 allergens

1. Celery. Includes the stalks, leaves, seeds, and the root (celeriac). Hides in stocks, soups, stock cubes, and seasonings.
2. Cereals containing gluten. Wheat (including spelt and Khorasan/Kamut), rye, barley, and oats. You must name the specific cereal, for example "wheat," not just "gluten." Hides in sauces, coatings, and many processed foods.
3. Crustaceans. Crabs, prawns, lobster, crayfish, and similar. Hides in pastes, sauces, and some flavourings.
4. Eggs. From any bird. Hides in mayonnaise, cakes, glazes, pasta, and many sauces.
5. Fish. All species. Hides in Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, some stocks, and certain condiments.
6. Lupin. A legume whose flour is used in some baked goods. Easily overlooked because it's less familiar.
7. Milk. Including all dairy derivatives. Hides in baked goods, sauces, chocolate, and as whey or casein in processed foods.
8. Molluscs. Mussels, clams, oysters, squid, snails, and similar. Hides in sauces and some flavourings.
9. Mustard. Including mustard seeds, powder, and leaves. Hides in dressings, marinades, sauces, and spice blends.
10. Tree nuts. Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, and macadamia nuts. The specific nut should be named. Hides in baked goods, sauces (pesto), and oils.
11. Peanuts. A legume rather than a tree nut, but a major allergen in its own right. Hides in sauces, snacks, and oils.
12. Sesame. Seeds and oil. Hides in bread, hummus, tahini, and many products.
13. Soybeans. Including soy derivatives. Hides in sauces, processed foods, and as soy lecithin in chocolate and baked goods.
14. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites. Where present above 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre. Used as preservatives. Hide in dried fruit, wine, and some processed foods.

Where producers slip up

Knowing the list is the easy part. The mistakes happen in application:

• Missing hidden allergens. The biggest trap. Allergens arrive through ingredients you don't think of as allergenic, sauces, stocks, seasonings, processing aids. You can only declare what you know is there, which is why accurate ingredient and supplier information is essential.
• Not naming the specific cereal or nut. "Gluten" or "nuts" isn't enough; name the wheat, the rye, the almond, the hazelnut.
• Relying on memory. If an allergen is in the recipe but not documented, a staff member who doesn't know creates a dangerous gap.
• Not updating when recipes or suppliers change. A reformulated ingredient can introduce a new allergen overnight. Supplier specifications must be kept current.
• Confusing cross-contact with ingredients. Allergens that are genuinely in the recipe must be declared; "may contain" is only for unavoidable cross-contact after a risk assessment, never a substitute for declaring real ingredients.

How to declare them

How you provide allergen information depends on how the food is sold:

1. Prepacked food: the allergens present must be emphasised within the ingredients list, typically in bold, so they stand out.
2. Prepacked for direct sale (PPDS): since Natasha's Law, these need a label with the name of the food and a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised, the same as prepacked.
3. Non-prepacked (loose) food: allergen information must be available to the customer, in writing or with a clear sign directing them to where they can get it.

In every case, the information must be accurate and easily accessible. Our guide to UK food labelling covers the prepacked rules in detail, and our guide to allergen management and Natasha's Law covers managing allergens across your whole operation.

Keep your allergen information accurate and central

The thread running through every allergen mistake is information that's incomplete or out of date. The defence is keeping accurate allergen information for every product and every ingredient, and keeping it current as recipes and suppliers change. Holding it in one place, linked to your products, recipes, and supplier specifications, is what makes that reliable. FoodSafe keeps your allergen information alongside your product details and supplier records, so when a recipe or supplier changes you have one accurate source to update your declarations and labels from, rather than reconstructing them from memory.

Get these right, always

The 14 allergens aren't a list to memorise once and forget. They're a permanent, legal, life-or-death responsibility that runs through your recipes, your suppliers, your labels, and your daily handling. Know what each one covers, watch for where they hide, name them specifically, keep your information current, and declare them correctly for how you sell. Of everything in food safety, this is the area where there is no acceptable margin for error.

Food safety compliance, handled.