To protect those that suffer from food allergies, allergen information has to be provided wherever food is provided in a commercial environment, regardless of whether it’s pre-packed, non-packed, on a plate, in a takeaway carton, cooked or uncooked.
Details of specified allergens have to be listed clearly in an obvious place; If it’s not provided upfront (i.e. on packaging, a menu or via on-shelf labelling), then customers will need to be signposted to where it can be found (e.g. serving staff or a website).
All food producers have to ensure that the ingredients label agrees with what actually goes into the food by regularly assessing the allergen status of ingredients from suppliers and avoiding contamination in food assembly.
If it can’t be guaranteed that a food product hasn’t been accidentally contaminated during the food production process, labels with phrases like "may contain" or "not suitable for those with ‘x’ allergy" can be used to warn consumers.
Food Information Regulations (FIR) 2014
For compliance with FIR, the following 14 allergens must be appropriately declared: