Allergen chart maker

It depends on the country. The UK, EU and Saudi Arabia name 14 allergens, the US names 9, and India's FSSAI labelling rules name 8 categories. Choose your country's list above and the chart's columns change to match. Rules differ on where and how you show them, so check with your local authority too.

Celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, and tree nuts. The UK's Food Standards Agency and Annex II of the EU's Regulation 1169/2011 give this list, and Saudi Arabia's SFDA names the same 14.

Not always, and it depends on the country. UK guidance allows full written information on a menu or chalkboard, or telling customers verbally if a clear written notice says how to ask. SFDA asks Saudi menus to show allergens permanently in a clear place, in Arabic. A chart is one clear way to give the written information.

SFDA asks for the allergens in Arabic and allows a translation into other languages. Turn on Arabic names for the UK, EU and Saudi list, and the chart prints SFDA's Arabic name under each English one. Have a native reader check any Arabic you type yourself, such as the note at the foot.

The FDA lists nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. FDA's labelling rules cover packaged foods, including foods packaged by food service establishments. We did not check whether your state asks for allergen information on restaurant menus, so ask your local health department.

Check the label of every ingredient in each recipe, including sauces, oils and stock. Tick an allergen if the dish contains it. In the UK this also covers additives and processing aids that end up in the dish. A dish with no ticks is shown as free of every listed allergen, so check twice before you print.