Because of the dangers of food allergies, certain food items have to be labelled in order to avoid cases of accidental consumption. According to the EU Commission, all of the following foods have to be clearly mentioned on the label of pre-packed foods, even when present in very small amounts.
- Cereals containing gluten (i.e. wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, camut or their hybrids)
- Lupin (a kind of legume of the Fabaceae family)
- Sulphur dioxide (used as antioxidant and preservative, e.g. in dried fruits, wine, processed potatoes)
- Sulphite (in concentrations above 10mg/kg)
- Celery
- Eggs
- Fish
- Milk
- Molluscs
- Mustard
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Shellfish
- Soya
- Tree nuts
This information can help you identify whether or not a food contains an ingredient that you need to avoid. Sometimes small amounts of an allergen can get into a product by accident, even though food producers take great care to stop this from happening. If there is a possibility that this could happen in a factory, the food label might say something like “May contain nuts”.
Take this information to heart, and you’ll be better prepared to prevent allergy emergencies in your restaurant.
