Allergen labelling

General rule

Any food containing a specified allergenic ingredient (see list of specified allergenic ingredients) or any ingredient originating from a specified allergenic ingredient, must specify the ingredient in the name of the food or be marked or labelled with a clear reference to the name of the allergenic ingredient.

Where the food is a drink with an alcoholic strength by volume of more than 1.2 per cent, unless the name of the allergenic ingredient is specified in the name of the drink (or in any list of ingredients):

• the presence of any specified allergenic shall be indicated by marking or labelling the drink with the word "contain" followed by the name of the allergenic ingredient, and
• the presence of any ingredient originating from a specified allergenic ingredient shall be indicated by marking or labelling the drink with the word "contains" followed by the name of the ingredient including a reference to the allergenic ingredient from which it originates

Notes:

1. It is common practice to use a specific 'allergy warning box' on food labels. However, this is not specified as a legal requirment of the regulations. FSA guidance states: "Allergy information/alert boxes are not covered by the legislation and their use is entirely voluntary."
2. Additional information is often given suggesting the potential for contamination when certain raw materials are present in a factory but are not used as ingredients - often termed 'may contain' labeling. FSA guidance states: "The allergen rules apply to the labelling of [specified] ingredients and their derivatives that have been intentionally added in the course of preparing the food. There is no legal requirement in the Regulations to use 'may contain' or nut trace warnings to indicate possible allergen cross-contamination. However, many manufacturers and retailers provide this information voluntarily in order to indicate the possible presence of unintentional ingredients that people may be allergic to in pre-packed food." Additional guidance on the use of 'may contain' labels is provided in specific FSA guidance (see the links page)