Allergen rules in Ireland: what restaurants, pubs and cafés must tell customers

Ireland's allergen rules for restaurants, pubs and cafés are specific about how the information reaches the customer. It's not enough to have the information in the kitchen and tell people if they ask. The law is built around one idea: the customer should be able to read which allergens are in each dish before they order, without having to ask.

The law in one paragraph

EU Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (Food Information to Consumers) has required allergen information on both prepacked and non-prepacked food since 13 December 2014. For non-prepacked food, member states set how the information is given. Ireland did this with S.I. No. 489 of 2014, the Health (Provision of Food Allergen Information to Consumers in respect of Non-Prepacked Food) Regulations 2014, which came into operation on 13 December 2014. S.I. No. 656 of 2024 amended it, mainly on enforcement (compliance notices and sampling). The core rule is in Regulation 4: you must not sell or supply food unless written particulars of any allergen in it are given.

Who the rules cover

The FSAI lists restaurants, pubs, takeaways and contract caterers, food stalls (mobile and fixed), delivery services, and shops selling non-prepacked food. Non-prepacked food includes:

• food sold loose, as in a restaurant, café, deli or takeaway;
• food packed on the premises at the customer's request, such as a sandwich made to order and wrapped;
• food packed on the premises for direct sale, such as a lasagne made in the café kitchen and sold from the café fridge.

The rules apply whether food is sold or given free. Hotels and B&Bs serving food are covered in the same way as restaurants.

The 14 allergens

You must declare any of these when used as an ingredient (including in a sauce, a garnish or a drink):

1. Cereals containing gluten: wheat (including spelt and Khorasan wheat), rye, barley, oats. Name the cereal, e.g. "wheat", not just "gluten".
2. Crustaceans, e.g. crab, prawns, lobster
3. Eggs
4. Fish
5. Peanuts
6. Soybeans
7. Milk
8. Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia (Queensland) nuts. Name the nut, e.g. "almond", not just "nuts".
9. Celery
10. Mustard
11. Sesame seeds
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10mg/kg or 10mg/L (as total sulphur dioxide)
13. Lupin
14. Molluscs, e.g. mussels, oysters, squid

This is the FSAI's list and order. Only these 14 are legally required, though customers may have other allergies and it's good practice to help where you can.

How the written information must look

The FSAI says that in Ireland, the allergen information must:

• be in writing, in English, or in Irish and English;
• be easy to find and available before the food is sold, so customers don't have to ask;
• relate directly to each food or drink. "Our food contains..." isn't acceptable; it must say, for example, "Spaghetti Bolognese: contains milk, celery, wheat";
• be legible, handwritten or printed.

Because non-prepacked food doesn't usually have an ingredients list, use the word "Contains" followed by the allergens.

On the menu or in a central place

For restaurants and takeaways, the FSAI allows two approaches:

• beside each item on the menu or board; or
• centrally, in one or more clearly visible places on the premises, in hard copy or electronic form.

If the information isn't immediately obvious, it must be clearly signposted, for example a line on the menu saying where to find it. The FSAI also says to cover the small things: sauces, condiments and drinks, not just the main dishes.

QR codes

The FSAI is direct about this: a QR code alone is not sufficient. Digital information can complement the written information, not replace it. A QR code on the table next to a printed allergen folder at the bar is fine. A QR code instead of one isn't.

Specials boards

Where specials are advertised separately, on a chalkboard or a printed insert, the FSAI says the allergen information must be updated every time the food offering changes. This is an easy one to miss: the soup changes at 11am and nobody updates the allergen folder. Build it into the routine: whoever writes the board writes the allergens beside each special.

Drinks in pubs and hotel bars

The FSAI's guidance for licensed premises says the written information for bottled drinks must also be given for their non-prepacked equivalents: draught beer and cider, wine by the glass, cocktails, smoothies and juices. Use the wording "Contains...". Options include sulphite information on the wine list and cocktail allergens beside the drinks or on the price list. If a cocktail is made only on request and isn't on any list, the allergens still have to be told to the customer before the sale.

"May contain" statements

A "may contain..." or "made in a kitchen that uses..." line is voluntary. The FSAI says it covers possible cross-contamination, not ingredients you intentionally use, and does not replace the mandatory declarations under S.I. No. 489 of 2014. It also can't replace good practice in the kitchen to prevent cross-contamination.

The FSAI draws the line between ingredient and contaminant with chips. Chips fried in peanut oil: declare peanuts. Chips fried in oil previously used for fish: that's cross-contamination, so no fish declaration is legally required. It's still worth telling customers who ask.

When the dish name is enough

If the name of the food clearly refers to the allergen, for example "smoked cod", you don't have to declare it separately (Regulation 6). The FSAI's advice is to declare all allergens anyway, because dishes like fish cakes contain others that aren't obvious from the name.

Online, phone and delivery orders

If you take orders by phone, website or app and deliver the food, that's distance selling. The FSAI says:

• written allergen information must be available before the order is concluded, for example on your website or ordering page;
• allergen information must also be given at the point of delivery, in writing or verbally;
• if the information was only given verbally at ordering, it must be given in writing at delivery, for example on a receipt or leaflet.

Check every third-party platform you list on: your allergen information needs to be on the dish there too.

Staff training and the conversation at the table

The FSAI says staff training must include the identification and handling of the 14 allergens and how to respond to consumer concerns. It also advises that people with an allergy should talk to a member of staff about their needs. Written information is the legal minimum; a trained server who knows where the folder is and when to go and ask the chef is what keeps people safe.

Our food safety training guide covers how allergens fit into induction.

Keeping allergen information accurate

The FSAI recommends:

• keeping a record of ingredients each time you add a dish;
• checking ingredient labels, and re-checking when a delivery brings a different brand or a substitute;
• keeping copies of ingredient labels in a central place;
• clearly labelling storage containers and using the same ingredients every time;
• reviewing and updating allergen information regularly, and making sure staff know where it's kept.

The FSAI's free Menu Items Allergen Check List and its MenuCal tool help you record allergens per recipe. Our allergen matrix template gives you a version to copy.

What enforcement looks like

Under the allergen regulations, an authorised officer (for most restaurants, an HSE Environmental Health Officer) can serve a compliance notice stating what's wrong and what you must do by when. Failing to comply with the notice is an offence. Allergen management can also come up at a routine inspection as part of your food safety management system. See FSAI enforcement orders explained for the wider picture.

Checklist

• Every dish and drink checked against the 14 allergens, including sauces and garnishes
• Written information beside each item or in a signposted central place
• English (or Irish and English), legible, "Contains..." wording
• Not relying on a QR code alone
• Specials board allergens updated each time it changes
• Drinks covered: draught, wine by the glass, cocktails
• Online menus and delivery platforms carry the same information; written info at delivery
• Staff trained on the 14 allergens and on handling customer questions
• Ingredient labels on file; checked when brands change

Where ShiftComplete helps

In ShiftComplete, every menu item is mapped to the 14 allergens, grouped by course, and searchable by front-of-house staff from their phone on the floor. Only managers can edit it, so the version on the floor is the version the kitchen signed off. It gives your team quick, accurate answers to customer questions; you still need the written, customer-facing information the law requires on your menu, boards or central allergen folder.

ShiftComplete costs €1.99 per active staff member per month, free for 60 days, no card and no contract. Start a free trial.