Allergen Labelling for UK Pubs

Last updated: 2 May 2026

Most pub landlords think allergen labelling is a simple tick-box exercise — print a menu with a little asterisk and move on. That’s how you end up with an environmental health officer standing in your bar writing you up for non-compliance, or worse, a customer in hospital and your licence at risk. Allergen labelling in UK pubs is genuinely serious, and a lot of operators get it wrong because nobody teaches them the actual rules. You’re running a food and drink business, and under UK food law, you are legally responsible for providing accurate allergen information to every customer who asks — whether they’re ordering a burger, a pie, or even a packet of peanuts behind the bar. This article covers the exact legal requirements, what your staff need to know, how to document it properly, and what happens if you get it wrong. Read this before your next EHO inspection.

What the Law Actually Says About Allergens

Under the Food Standards Agency (FSA) Food Information to Consumers Regulation (FIC), you must provide information about 14 regulated allergens to customers before they order food or non-alcoholic drinks. This isn’t optional. It’s a legal requirement, and it applies to every pub that serves food — whether you cook it on-site, outsource it to a third party, or buy pre-made items from a distributor.

The regulation came into force in December 2014, but I still see pubs getting it wrong 12 years later. The key point that catches most operators is this: allergen information doesn’t have to be on a printed menu, but it must be available and accessible before the customer orders. You can provide it on a separate allergen sheet, verbally from a trained member of staff, on your website, or behind the bar — but it must be clear, accurate, and readily available.

When I took on Teal Farm Pub three years ago, the previous owner had a single laminated A4 sheet wedged under the bar with hand-written allergen info. The EHO literally laughed when they asked where it was. Now I have a printed allergen guide available at every table, alongside the menu, and staff are trained to direct customers to it or answer questions directly. It took me an afternoon to sort out properly, but it’s saved me from non-compliance notices ever since.

If you operate under a tied pub agreement with Marston’s or another pubco, they may provide some allergen information through their centrally supplied menus, but you are still legally responsible if that information is wrong or incomplete. You cannot hide behind a pubco agreement.

The 14 Allergens You Must Declare

UK food law recognises 14 major allergens that must be declared on any food or drink product. You need to know these inside out because they appear in unexpected places — and that’s where most pub operators slip up.

The 14 allergens are:

• Cereals containing gluten — wheat, barley, rye, oats (if not certified gluten-free), spelt
• Crustaceans — prawns, crab, lobster, shrimp
• Eggs — in batters, cakes, sauces, mayonnaise
• Fish — include fish sauce in Asian dishes, Worcestershire sauce in some products
• Peanuts — often in satay sauce, some nuts mixes
• Tree nuts — almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, cashews, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts
• Soya — in soy sauce, tofu, some vegetable oils, some processed meats
• Milk and dairy — cheese, butter, cream, milk powder, lactose
• Celery — celeriac, celery powder (common in stocks and seasonings)
• Mustard — as a condiment or in dressings
• Sesame — in hummus, tahini, some breads
• Sulphites — used as preservatives in wine, dried fruit, some processed foods
• Lupin — in some gluten-free flours and products
• Molluscs — mussels, oysters, clams, squid, snails

The most common mistake pubs make is forgetting allergens in sauces, dressings, and processed ingredients that they buy ready-made. You might serve a seemingly simple ham and cheese toastie, but the ham supplier includes celery powder as a preservative, the bread contains sesame seeds, and the mayonnaise has fish in the Worcestershire sauce. If you don’t know what’s in your suppliers’ products, you cannot accurately declare allergens to customers.

This is why keeping detailed supplier documentation is essential — which I’ll cover in the next section.

How to Train Your Staff on Allergen Procedures

Your staff are your first line of defence against allergen-related incidents. If a customer asks about nuts in a peanut satay sauce, or whether a dessert contains eggs, your bar staff need to know how to respond confidently and accurately — or know exactly when to escalate to someone who does.

Here’s what effective allergen training looks like in a working pub:

1. Initial induction — Every new member of staff should receive a 15-minute allergen briefing before they work their first shift. This should cover what the 14 allergens are, where they commonly appear in your menu, and the procedure for handling allergen queries. Don’t assume they know — most don’t.

2. Know when to defer — If you have a kitchen team, staff should know that for complex dishes or made-in-house items, they should ask the kitchen directly rather than guess. If you buy pre-made food, staff should know how to quickly access supplier allergen information or contact the supplier. At Teal Farm, if there’s any doubt about an allergen query, the bar staff ask the head chef or pass the question to me — we’d rather spend 30 seconds checking than serve an unsafe meal.

3. Keep a reference sheet behind the bar — A laminated card listing your dishes, the allergens they contain, and the source of that information (kitchen recipe, supplier documentation, etc.) saves time and prevents guesswork. This needs updating if your menu or suppliers change.

4. Refresh training quarterly — Allergen training isn’t a one-off. When you introduce new suppliers, change menu items, or add seasonal specials, staff need to know about potential new allergen sources. Many pubs I know make it part of their monthly staff meeting for 10 minutes.

5. Document it — Keep a record of who you’ve trained, when, and what you covered. If an EHO inspection happens and they ask whether your staff know your allergen procedures, you need to prove it. I keep a simple spreadsheet with staff names, training dates, and signatures — takes five minutes to maintain.

Keeping Records and Documentation

Documentation is the difference between passing an EHO inspection and receiving a non-compliance notice. The FSA expects you to be able to demonstrate how you’ve verified allergen information for every item you serve.

You need to keep:

• Supplier allergen declarations — For any food or drink you buy pre-made or partially prepared, get written confirmation from your supplier about what allergens are present. This might be an email, a product specification sheet, a supplier’s allergen matrix, or the product label itself. Keep these on file. If a supplier won’t provide allergen information in writing, that’s a red flag — consider changing suppliers.
• Recipe documentation — If you make items in-house (pies, burgers, batters, sauces), document the ingredients and allergens. You don’t need a fancy system — a simple spreadsheet or printed sheet kept in the kitchen works. Update it whenever a recipe changes or you switch ingredient suppliers.
• Menu allergen information — Whether you use a printed sheet, on-table cards, or a website, keep a dated copy. If you update your allergen information, keep the old version too — it shows you’re maintaining accurate records if something goes wrong.
• Staff training records — Names, dates, and what was covered. Shows due diligence.
• Incident logs — If a customer reports an allergic reaction or allergen-related complaint, document it fully: what they ordered, what they said they reacted to, what you served, what actions you took. This is critical for liability and for showing the EHO you take allergens seriously.

I learned this the hard way during my NSF audit in March 2026. The auditor asked to see my allergen documentation, and I pulled up a folder on my phone with supplier emails, my allergen reference sheet, and staff training records. It took two minutes. If I hadn’t had those records, I’d have failed on the spot. Documentation isn’t optional — it’s your evidence that you’re following the law.

Common Mistakes That Get You Fined

After 15 years in hospitality and three years running my own pub, I’ve seen enough allergen mistakes to recognise the patterns that trigger EHO action. Here are the ones that hurt most:

Mistake 1: Assuming staff will remember allergen information without training or written procedures. Someone new to the team gets asked about gluten in a sauce and says “probably not” — customer gets sick, you get a complaint, EHO gets involved. Always have a reference document and always train staff.

Mistake 2: Not updating allergen information when you change suppliers. You’ve been buying sausages from Supplier A for two years with their allergen declaration, then switch to Supplier B without checking their allergen sheet. Supplier B’s sausages contain celery powder. You still list the old allergen info. Customer reacts. You’re liable.

Mistake 3: Relying entirely on a printed menu without making it clear that allergen information is available on request. The law says information must be “readily available” — which means if a customer has to hunt for it or ask three times, you’ve failed. Print allergen information clearly, or train staff to provide it within seconds.

Mistake 4: Not declaring hidden allergens in processed ingredients. You serve a burger with a shop-bought bun, bought-in cheese, and a pat of butter. Nobody realises the butter contains milk powder, the cheese was processed on the same line as nuts, and the bun contains sesame. Customer with a nut allergy orders it, you don’t mention sesame because you didn’t know it was there — customer gets sick. You knew, or should have known.

Mistake 5: Saying “none” when you’re unsure. A customer asks if your chips are cooked in the same oil as fish. You don’t know, so you say “no” to avoid an awkward conversation. If that customer has a fish allergy, gets sick, and reports you, the EHO will find out you lied about allergen cross-contamination. This ends in prosecution, not just a fine.

The legal and financial consequence is serious. An EHO can issue a Hygiene Improvement Notice requiring you to put things right within a set timeframe. If you don’t comply, they can prosecute — which can result in unlimited fines for breaching food safety regulations, or even closure of your premises. But the real damage is reputational: if someone has a serious allergic reaction linked to your pub, it’s not just a fine, it’s trust destroyed and word-of-mouth damage that can take years to recover from.

Practical Implementation for Your Pub

If you’re taking on a pub or reviewing your current allergen procedures, here’s what you actually need to do this week:

Step 1: Audit what you currently serve. Make a list of every food and non-alcoholic drink item on your menu. Include snacks, crisps, nuts, ready-made items, and anything you make fresh. Don’t miss anything — this is your baseline.

Step 2: Get allergen information from every supplier. Contact every supplier of pre-made or part-prepared items. Ask for written allergen information. If they can’t provide it, start looking for a new supplier. You need this in writing, not over the phone.

Step 3: Document any in-house recipes. If your kitchen makes pies, sausages, sauces, or anything battered, write down the ingredients and allergens. Keep it simple — a spreadsheet in Google Sheets or Excel works fine. Include a date so you know when you last updated it.

Step 4: Create your allergen reference sheet. A one-page laminated sheet listing every menu item and its allergens. Keep copies at the bar, on tables, and one in the kitchen. Update it whenever your menu or suppliers change.

Step 5: Train your staff. 15 minutes, cover the 14 allergens, show them the reference sheet, explain when to ask the kitchen or check supplier info, and what to do if a customer reports a reaction. Keep a record with dates and names.

Step 6: Keep your documentation in one place. A folder (physical or digital) with supplier allergen declarations, recipe information, menu copies, staff training records, and any incident logs. Show this to the EHO when they ask — it’s proof you’re taking allergens seriously.

For pubs serving wet sales only (no food), allergen requirements are lighter — you only need to declare allergens in mixers, cordials, and non-alcoholic drinks if you provide them. Alcoholic drinks have different labelling rules under EU Regulation 1169/2011 (still retained in UK law). But if you serve any food at all, the full allergen regime applies.

If you’re using pub management tools to run your operation, some EPOS systems allow you to tag allergens against menu items and print them on receipts — which is a useful extra layer if you’re doing high-volume food service. However, that’s a supplement to your procedure, not a replacement for staff knowledge and supplier documentation.

Before you commit to a new pub tenancy or significantly expand your food service, run your numbers through a pub profit margin calculator to understand the financial impact of scaling food service — because food compliance, including allergen management, adds time and cost that many new operators underestimate.

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For more information, visit best pub EPOS systems guide.