Two ready files: the list of 14 allergens to hang in the kitchen, and an empty table template where you attach allergens to your own dishes.
- The 14 allergens — printable PDF (A4) — one page, for the pass. Each allergen with a hint about where it usually hides.
- Allergen table — XLSX template — columns 1–14, rows for your dishes, a column for cross-contamination notes and one for the date last verified. Three worked examples at the top.
The files are free, with nothing to sign up for. Below, briefly, how to use them and what to watch when filling them in.
Where the list comes from
It is Annex II to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, in force across the EU since 13 December 2014. The list is closed — you cannot shorten or extend it at will. The duty to inform covers every venue serving non-prepacked food, with no size threshold.
The full treatment of the rules, the permitted forms of information and what an inspection checks is in the guide: allergens on the menu — what restaurants must do.
The 14 allergens in brief
| # | Allergen | Where it usually hides |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cereals containing gluten | breading, roux, soy sauce, spice blends, beer |
| 2 | Crustaceans | stocks, Asian sauces, shrimp paste |
| 3 | Eggs | mayonnaise, pasta, breading, cakes, emulsified sauces |
| 4 | Fish | Worcestershire sauce, anchovy paste, Caesar dressing |
| 5 | Peanuts | Asian sauces, peanut oil, desserts |
| 6 | Soybeans | soy sauce, marinades, soy lecithin in chocolate |
| 7 | Milk (including lactose) | clarified butter, bread, breading, sauces |
| 8 | Nuts | pesto, desserts, salads, oils, bread |
| 9 | Celery | almost every stock and bouillon, spice mixes |
| 10 | Mustard | mustard, dressings, marinades, sausages |
| 11 | Sesame seeds | buns, hummus, tahini, Middle Eastern cooking |
| 12 | Sulphur dioxide and sulphites | wine, dried fruit, vinegar |
| 13 | Lupin | gluten-free flours, bread, vegan products |
| 14 | Molluscs | mussels, octopus, squid, fish sauces |
Filling in the table — five things people forget
1. Check labels, not memory
An allergen goes in based on the product label, not from your head. The biggest surprises come from things that look innocent: spice blends (celery and gluten), stock cubes (celery), soy sauce (wheat), mustard in a dressing.
2. Check celery and sulphites separately
These two are skipped most often. Celery is in practically every stock, bouillon and all-purpose vegetable seasoning. Sulphites are in wine, vinegar and dried fruit; the threshold is 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l.
3. Drinks too
The wine and beer list carries the same duty as the food menu. Wine almost always means sulphites, beer means gluten.
4. Write cross-contamination notes case by case
The template's notes column is for situations like "shared fryer with breaded fish" or "flour in the air while dough is worked". Fill it in where the risk genuinely exists. Adding "may contain everything" to every row makes the information meaningless — and a guest with coeliac disease will order nothing at all.
5. The verification date is not decoration
The last column of the template is the most important one in practice. A table made once and never updated is worse than none, because it gives false confidence. Set a simple rule: recipe change or supplier change = review the row.
The limit of a paper table
A printed table solves the problem for today. After 6 months, two supplier changes and one menu change it usually no longer matches reality. Updating it requires somebody to remember a new print run and to swap the copies at each of 20–40 tables.
Which is why more and more venues keep allergens where the menu already is: attached to the item, along with the price and the description. A recipe change is one edit, visible to the guest immediately — at the table, on the site and in the takeaway version. The rules allow electronic form on the same footing as written, so you do not have to run both.
How to set it up is in labelling allergens in a digital menu. You can also see what an electronic restaurant menu with allergens at every dish looks like.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use these files in my own venue?
Yes, without restriction — including after making your own changes. This is information, not legal advice; if in doubt, confirm the details with your national food-safety authority.
Is the Excel table enough as the list for the guest?
Not in that form. The working file is for you to gather the information. The guest has to be able to reach the list before ordering — in the menu, in a table laid out for them, or in an electronic menu.
Do I have to mark all 14 allergens if I only use five?
In the list you declare the ones actually present in the dishes. It is worth keeping the 14 in the kitchen as a checking aid, because some allergens reach dishes through prepared goods nobody thinks about.
What do I do when a supplier changes a product's composition?
Review the rows of every dish that product appears in and update the verification date. That is the most common moment when a list stops matching reality.
