Allergen label guide for food and beverage start-ups

As a food and beverage business owner or start-up founder, knowing how to properly declare allergens is crucial for compliance with UK and EU food legislation, as well as providing accurate information to consumers.

Here is a comprehensive guide, including a complete list of allergens, declaring allergens based on product categories, distance selling and the use of precautionary allergen labels.

You will have the knowledge and tools to confidently navigate allergen management and ensure the safety of your consumers.

What are food allergens?

Food hypersensitivity

Food hypersensitivity can be classified into three categories:

• Food allergies

Are triggered by allergens, which are proteins found in food that can cause an immune response in certain individuals.

Allergic reactions can manifest in various ways, including itching around the mouth, rashes, vomiting, diarrhoea, difficulty breathing, and in severe cases, anaphylaxis or even death. These symptoms can occur shortly after consuming the allergenic food or several hours later.

• Food intolerances

Do not involve the immune system and are generally not life-threatening.

However, they can cause significant discomfort and have long-term health implications. Examples of food intolerances include lactose intolerance and gluten intolerance.

• Coeliac disease

A genetic and autoimmune disorder triggered by the consumption of gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

In individuals with Coeliac disease, the presence of gluten leads to an abnormal immune response, damaging the gut and causing malabsorption, nutritional deficiencies and related complications.

The 14 food allergens

To ensure the safety of consumers with food allergies, accurately providing allergen information and effectively handling and managing food allergens in designated food preparation areas is a legal requirement.

14 food allergens have been chosen because they are the most common and dangerous:

• Celery

• Cereals containing gluten, such as wheat, barley and oats

• Crustaceans, such as prawns, crabs and lobsters

• Eggs

• Fish

• Lupin

• Milk

• Molluscs, such as mussels and oysters

• Mustard

• Peanuts

• Sesame

• Soybeans

• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites**

• Tree nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts

**To be considered as an allergen, sulphur dioxide needs to be at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/L calculated for products as ready for consumption or as reconstituted according to the instructions of the manufacturers.

It's important to note that other foods, such as chestnuts, pine nuts, and coconut, are not classified as part of the 14 main food allergens.

The FSA offers free allergen management training and resources, which is especially beneficial for individuals who produce food and beverage products at home or in their own establishments. As a reminder, allergen management is taken into account during food hygiene inspections and ratings.

Watch this webinar to understand the three critical areas for ensuring compliance with food legislation:

Allergen labelling

Whether your product falls into the category of pre-packed food, food pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) or non-prepacked food, it is mandatory to inform your consumers about the allergens present or possibly present in your product.

The main difference between product categories lies in how you display this information to consumers. Let's take a closer look!

1. Pre-packed food and pre-packed for direct sale food (PPDS)

Pre-packed refers to any food that is packaged before being sold.

• Pre-packed food refers to food that is packed by one business and supplied to another. This includes any food products found in retailers, whether they are own-label or from other brands, that have been packaged elsewhere

• Pre-packed for direct sale food (PPDS) is food that is packaged on-site or in moveable and/or temporary premises (e.g. market stalls, or sales vehicles) by the same food business, in preparation for an order from the final consumer. This category can include:
  1. Coffee shop pre-packed food and drinks that consumers select themselves (e.g. from a chilled display unit), such as sandwiches, salads and pasta pots
  2. Pre-packed in-store bakery, deli and cheese counters in retail stores

  3. Fast food that is packaged before it is ordered, such as a burger kept under a hot lamp

The pre-packed food and PPDS food must be fully labelled with the food name and a complete ingredients list, including allergenic ingredients.

Seven main allergen rules to remember

1. Allergen information must be easily accessible and visible

2. In the ingredients list, the allergenic ingredients must be emphasised every time they appear. For example, they can be listed in bold, in capital letters, in contrasting colours or underlined

3. In the ingredients list, allergenic ingredients must be declared with a clear reference to the allergen to ensure clear and uniform understanding.

   Examples:
   - Tofu (soya)
   - Tahini paste (sesame)
   - Butter (milk)
   - Cod (fish)
   - Wheat flour (gluten)

4. Allergen advice statements can also be used on the product label to explain how allergen information is presented on a label, for example: 'Allergen Advice: for allergens, see ingredients in bold'

5. If an ingredient's name partly includes an allergen in a single word, then emphasise only the name of the ingredient corresponding to the allergen. For example, sodium metabisulphite

6. If your product is sold in multi-packs, the allergens must be displayed on the outer packaging. Additionally, if you provide allergen information on the packaging of individual products, it must match the information on the outer packaging

7. Vegan doesn’t mean allergen-free. Vegan products must be treated like any other food with potential allergens. This includes being cautious of cross-contact, even from animal-based allergens, such as eggs, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and milk

Food specifics

Cereals that contain gluten must be listed in the ingredients using the specific name of the cereal, such as 'wheat starch (gluten)' or 'barley malt extract (gluten)'.

At EPICSI, we follow the best practice recommended by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) guidance, which states that all milk products in the ingredients list should be clearly marked with the allergen milk. For example, 'butter (milk)'.

Some food products, such as alcoholic drinks with more than 1.2% ABV, do not require an ingredients list. However, allergens still need to be mentioned by using the word 'Contains' followed by the name of the allergen. For example: 'Contains: sulphites, nuts and egg'.

2. Non-pre-packed food

Non-pre-packed food refers to any food that is packaged only after purchase.

This category can include:

• Coffee shop food and drinks behind a counter

• Salad bar, deli and cheese counters in retail stores, where consumers usually ask counter staff for a certain weight of product

• Bread or pastries in bakery shop

• Meat from butchers

• Food from a takeaway

• Meals served in a canteen, a buffet or a restaurant

• Fast food including drive-through

Non-pre-packed food does not require standard food labelling with names, ingredients and emphasised allergens.

However, allergen information still needs to be easily accessible and visible to consumers before they place their orders. This can be done through alternative means, such as directing consumers to where the information can be found or providing a statement on a notice, menu or label next to the product.

In buffet settings, where consumers self-select the products, allergen information should be provided for each food item separately.

Additionally, to enhance consumer service and choice, a food business could opt to provide a breakdown of allergenic components within a dish instead of only listing the allergens present in the entire dish.

To ensure that your staff is knowledgeable about the allergens in the products or dishes you sell, it is advisable to provide allergen information on a chart, in a recipe book, or on ingredient information sheets that can be easily accessed by your staff.

Distance selling

Distance selling refers to the sale of food or beverage products through channels that do not involve a direct physical interaction with consumers. These channels include online platforms (e-commerce, takeaway menus, social media stores), mail-order services, telephone orders and television shopping.

Pre-packed foods, pre-packed for direct sale food (PPDS) and non-pre-packed food must ensure that mandatory allergen information is available to the consumer (for free) before the purchase is concluded. This can be done directly on your website or delivery services.

Additionally, it is important to include allergen details at the time of delivery. This can be done by placing stickers on food containers. For example, Chicken satay: 'Contains: wheat, soy, fish, peanut'.

Alternatively, for a caterer, a menu can be provided with the order, allowing the consumers to easily identify allergenic ingredients in the food. Another option is for the member of staff from the business delivering the food to present written allergen information to the consumer.

Precautionary allergen label (PAL)

A precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) statement, such as 'may contain', should only be included on pre-packed or non-pre-packed foods if there is a confirmed risk of allergen cross-contact that cannot be effectively controlled through measures like segregation and cleaning.

PAL statements should not be used together with a 'free from' statement for the same allergen because a 'free from' claim guarantees the absence of the specified allergen. To declare 'free from', a food business must have implemented strict controls to eliminate any risk of cross-contact.

However, a 'gluten-free' statement can be used in with a PAL statement as they are not absolute claims but instead indicate that the levels of gluten in the food are below 20mg/kg.

The Food and Drink Federation offers detailed information and guidance on 'free-from' and 'gluten-free' claims.

Avoid cross-contact

The term 'cross-contamination' refers to the accidental transfer of harmful bacteria onto a food product, while the term 'cross-contact' refers to the accidental transfer of allergens. Both can occur during the manufacturing, handling, transportation, or storage of food.

To avoid or minimise cross-contact, it is important to conduct an allergen risk assessment when you are developing new products/meals or changing existing ones and implement a thorough allergen management protocol, such as:

Storage

Store ingredients and finished products that contain allergens separately, using appropriate allergen labels.

Manufacture

• Use separate utensils, equipment and a food preparation area (e.g. a dedicated bench top) when handling ingredients that contain allergens. Implement a colour coding system to facilitate this process

• If you are using a co-manufacturer, it is advisable to have separate production facilities for specific products. If that is not possible, try scheduling the production of foods in order of least allergenic to most allergenic

Cleaning

• Ensure that all utensils and equipment are thoroughly cleaned before each use

• All staff involved in handling ingredients, equipment, utensils, packaging and final food products should be aware of the possibilities of cross-contact with allergens and remember to regularly wash their hands thoroughly

Record

Allergen ingredients information should be:

• recorded on product specification sheets

• included on ingredient labels and ingredients should be kept in original or labelled containers

• included in recipes or explanations of the dishes provided, considering the impact when recipes change

• kept up-to-date

Conclusion

If you are setting up a food and beverage business, or starting an R&D project, whether it's new product development or improving existing products, managing allergens can be complex and overwhelming. However, it is a necessary process to ensure the safety of your consumers.

This guide aims to provide you with more information and clarity on how to declare allergens, no matter the type of product you sell (pre-packed or non-pre-packed) or the type of selling (direct to consumer or online).

While we do our best to provide comprehensive guidance, we always recommend you do your due diligence and reach out to your local authorities or experts if you need further assistance.

Relevant resources

• The ultimate small business guide to nutrition and health claims

• Six key points of flavouring legislation you should know [EBOOK]

• How to start a food business: Tips and strategies for success