Allergens on the Menu: Complying with EU Labeling Rules.

The Food Information Regulation (FIC, EU 1169/2011) lists 14 allergens that must be labeled on every menu across the EU:

1. Gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut)
2. Crustaceans (shrimp, crab, lobster, etc.)
3. Eggs
4. Fish
5. Peanuts
6. Soybeans
7. Milk (incl. lactose)
8. Tree nuts (almond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan, brazil, pistachio, macadamia)
9. Celery
10. Mustard
11. Sesame
12. Sulphites (SO₂ > 10 mg/kg)
13. Lupin
14. Molluscs (mussels, snails, squid, etc.)

Every dish containing one of these must be labeled. Including traces — e.g., breaded chicken wings and fries cooked in the same fryer mean the fries must be marked "may contain traces of gluten."

Three options are allowed:

• Letter/number codes with legend (e.g. "Spaghetti Carbonara (A, C, G)" with legend A=Gluten, C=Eggs, G=Milk). Space-saving, but guests have to search.
• Symbols/pictograms (wheat ear for gluten, shrimp for crustaceans, etc.). Strong visually, internationally understood.
• Plain text ("contains gluten, eggs, milk"). Maximum clarity, eats space.

Whichever you pick: allergens must be directly identifiable per dish, not hidden in a separate list. A "ask staff for allergen info" approach is NOT compliant — full labeling on the menu has been mandatory since 2014.

Hidden sources are the most common penalty trap:

• Mustard in spreads, sauces, marinades — often hidden as "seasoning blend"
• Soy in patties, vegetarian burgers, soy sauce
• Celery in stock cubes, soups, sauces (very common!)
• Sulphites in wine, dried fruits, dried apricots
• Eggs in mayonnaise, many sauces, binders
• Milk (lactose) in bread, sausage, chocolate

Rule of thumb: if you're not 100% sure what's in a pre-bought ingredient — check the label or ask your supplier. MenuMagic auto-detects typical sources from dish names and descriptions, but for bought ingredients you have to verify the label.

Fines vary by EU member state but are significant:

• Minor violations (individual unlabeled allergens): €50-500 per case
• Systematic violations (no allergen labeling at all): €1,000-10,000
• Wilful or repeated: up to €50,000, in extreme cases license revocation
• Damages from allergic reactions: can run into hundreds of thousands if the guest proves they weren't informed

Food safety authorities typically inspect unannounced 1-2× per year. First step is usually a warning with a deadline (often 2 weeks) — miss that and the fine arrives.

MenuMagic detects all 14 EU allergens automatically on photo upload. Two methods:

• Dish name analysis: "Spaghetti Carbonara" → gluten (pasta), eggs, milk (parmesan), pork (separate note)
• Description analysis: If your menu mentions "with cream", "in butter sauce", etc., milk gets flagged

What AI can't do: detect hidden allergens in pre-bought ingredients. If your supplier puts celery in the gravy and you don't know, the AI can't guess that.

Tip: Let the AI do the first pass, then go through with the chef and add hidden allergens. That takes 5 minutes vs. 1-2 hours of hand-tagging.

Set up: create your menu with MenuMagic or read the EU allergen quick-reference.