How to read the allergen information on a label

If anyone in your household has an allergy or intolerance, reading labels becomes second nature. Here are the key tips for doing so quickly and effectively.

The 14 mandatory allergens

In the European Union, Regulation 1169/2011 requires 14 allergens to be listed: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soya, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupin and molluscs. They must appear prominently in the list of ingredients, usually in bold or in capital letters.

“May contain traces”

This phrase is voluntary: the manufacturer warns that the product may have come into contact with an allergen during production. For someone with a severe allergy, this is just as important as the list of ingredients.

Unpackaged products

In bakeries, butchers’ shops or restaurants, allergen information is also mandatory, even if there is no label: always ask.

How Cocinoa displays this information

• Each recipe calculates its allergens based on the ingredients and the author’s declarations, such as “may contain” or “cross-contact”.
• If you specify your intolerances in your profile, recipes containing them are highlighted in red; the planner won’t suggest them to you, and you can filter the catalogue.
• When an ingredient hasn’t yet been checked, the recipe warns you that the information is incomplete.

Even so, the information in a recipe is never a substitute for the label on the product you buy: brands do change their formulas. Always check the packaging.