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Allergens on the menu.

The 14 allergens you have to declare, what EU and Italian rules ask of restaurants, bars and canteens, how to show them clearly on a digital menu and the mistakes to avoid.

By Alessandra De Luca · Updated

In short

Anyone who serves food, from restaurants to bars to canteens, must tell customers whether a dish contains any of the 14 allergens listed in EU Regulation 1169/2011. In Italy, Legislative Decree 231/2017 requires the information to be linked to each dish, in Italian, on the menu, in a register, on a sign or in a digital system kept in plain view, or else a written notice must direct customers to the staff. Either way, the information must also be backed by written documentation that is easy to consult.

The 14 allergens to declare.

Annex II of EU Regulation 1169/2011, the European law on food information for consumers, lists fourteen groups of substances that cause allergies or intolerances, together with the products made from them; some come with specific exceptions.

  1. Cereals containing gluten, such as wheat, rye, barley and oats.
  2. Crustaceans.
  3. Eggs.
  4. Fish.
  5. Peanuts.
  6. Soybeans.
  7. Milk, including lactose.
  8. Tree nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and pistachios.
  9. Celery.
  10. Mustard.
  11. Sesame seeds.
  12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10 mg per kilogram or per litre.
  13. Lupin.
  14. Molluscs.

Who must inform and when.

The regulation calls restaurants, canteens, schools, hospitals and catering businesses, vehicles and stalls included, “mass caterers”: places where food is prepared to be eaten right away. For food offered without prepackaging, Article 44 makes allergen information mandatory and leaves it to each EU country to decide how it must be given.

In Italy, this is set out in Article 19 of Legislative Decree no. 231 of 15 December 2017: the information must be given before the dish is served, and it must be clearly linked to each food item.

How to inform: the accepted ways.

  • On the menu, in a register, on a sign or in another equivalent system, digital ones included, kept in plain view.
  • With a written notice on the menu, in the register or on a sign that directs customers to the staff. Here too, the information must be backed by written documentation that inspectors and customers can easily consult.
  • In Italian, clearly visible and legible: the same article requires it.

On 6 February 2015, a note from Italy’s Ministry of Health asked staff to read this documentation in advance and approve it in writing, and left each business free to choose its method: for example, highlighting allergens in the ingredients of each dish, or a table of the 14 categories showing which dishes contain them.

Breaking the rules means administrative fines. Under Article 23, failing to declare allergens can cost from 3,000 to 24,000 euros, unless the act is a criminal offence; declaring them in a way other than the one required, from 1,000 to 8,000 euros.

What to write on the menu: two examples.

The law doesn’t set the exact wording: what matters is that the information is clear, in Italian and linked to each dish. Two examples of how it can be done:

  • Next to the dish: “Cheese focaccia. Allergens: 1 gluten, 7 milk”, with the key to the numbers 1 to 14 always visible on the same menu.
  • With a notice pointing to the staff: “To find out which allergens are in our dishes, please ask our staff: the written documentation is available to you.” The notice goes on the menu, the register or a clearly visible sign, and the written documentation must really be there.

On a digital menu, symbols only work with the name written next to them: we explain this below.

What about digital menus? Yes, but not alone.

The decree expressly allows digital systems, so a QR code menu is fine. But in that case the information must also be available in written documentation that customers and inspectors can easily find. The earlier 2015 note pointed the same way: apps and QR codes can’t be the only tool, because not everyone uses them. In practice: a digital menu for convenience, plus a paper register or table always available in the dining room.

Showing them well on a digital menu.

  • Next to each dish, not in a general key at the bottom: the information has to be linked to each food item.
  • Icons with the name spelled out: a symbol alone is easy to misread, a name isn’t. Numbers from 1 to 14 only work if the key is always visible.
  • An allergen filter: guests with coeliac disease or a nut allergy can hide the dishes they can’t eat with one tap. Pair it with a reminder to check with the staff.
  • Your customers’ languages: Italian is mandatory, and translations help visitors understand what they’re really eating.
  • Real text, not images: a photographed menu is hard to read and doesn’t work with screen readers.

For the rest, see our guide to digital menus with QR codes; if you’re considering a PDF, read QR menu or PDF menu.

The most common mistakes.

  • The recipe changes, the allergens don’t: a new supplier or a different ingredient can change them. Update the menu and the documentation together.
  • A notice that leads nowhere: “may contain allergens” isn’t enough unless it points to the staff and to written documentation.
  • Staff who can’t answer: whoever serves must know the documentation and be able to show it.
  • Only a QR code, with no written version for people who don’t use a smartphone.
  • Forgetting drinks: they can contain sulphites, one of the 14.

Allergens on the menu with Aleryc.

In Aleryc’s digital menu we organise items and descriptions the way you need, including allergen information. The information to include is provided by you, because you’re the one who knows your dishes and the obligations of your sector. When a dish changes, you tell us by email or WhatsApp and we update it; the QR code stays the same. The menu can be in the languages your customers really need, and we recommend a final check by a native speaker. The same system works for price lists and wine lists: you’ll find everything under digital products.

Sources.

Sources consulted on 27 October 2026. This guide is for information only and is not a substitute for legal advice: if you have doubts about your business, speak to a professional or your trade association.

FAQ

The questions we get asked most.

Yes. Anyone serving food must say whether a dish contains one of the 14 allergens listed in Regulation (EU) 1169/2011. In Italy, Legislative Decree 231/2017 requires the information to be in Italian, on the menu, a register, a sign or a digital system, or through a written notice pointing to the staff, always backed by written documentation.

For each dish, the allergens it contains, for example with the numbers 1 to 14 and the key always visible. Alternatively, a clearly visible written notice inviting customers to ask the staff, with written documentation always available. In Italy the information must be given in Italian.

Italy’s Legislative Decree 231/2017 allows digital systems, but in that case the information must also be available in written documentation that customers and inspectors can easily consult. Always keep a paper register or table in the dining room.

Yes, it’s one of the accepted ways: a written notice on the menu, in a register or on a sign that directs customers to the staff. The information, however, must still be backed by written documentation that customers and inspectors can easily consult.

You provide the information, because you’re the one who knows your dishes and the obligations of your sector. We organise items and descriptions the way you need, including allergen information.

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Write to us in English by email or WhatsApp: we’ll listen, ask you a few questions and tell you honestly what we would do in your place. Video calls and phone calls are in Italian.

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