Allergen information for online and phone orders: the two moments you must cover

If you run a takeaway, café or any food business that takes orders online or by phone, allergen information is not just something for the menu on the wall. The official guidance treats online and phone orders as "distance selling", and it asks for allergen information at two separate moments. Many small businesses cover the first and forget the second. This post sets out what the guidance says, in plain terms, and what to check on your website and in your kitchen this week.

The 14 allergens you must declare

The government's allergen guidance for food businesses says you must tell customers if any food you provide contains one of the 14 allergens listed in food law. They are:

• celery
• cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley and oats)
• crustaceans
• eggs
• fish
• lupin
• milk
• molluscs
• mustard
• peanuts
• sesame
• soybeans
• sulphur dioxide and sulphites, but only above ten parts per million
• tree nuts

The requirement also covers additives, processing aids and any other substances present in the final product. Other intolerances are not on the list, so the legal duty is about these 14.

Two moments, not one

The guidance is clear that for food sold online, by phone or any other distance method, allergen information must be provided at two points in the order process.

Before the purchase is completed. This can be in writing, for example on your website, in a catalogue or on a menu, or by speaking to the customer on the phone. For an online menu, the Food Standards Agency guidance says the page should show all relevant allergen information alongside what is being sold, the quantity and the price.

When the food is delivered. Again this can be written or spoken. The guidance gives examples: allergen stickers on the food, or an enclosed copy of the menu. A driver can also give the information orally.

The guidance advises written information at both stages, because customers can check it at their own pace. For non-prepacked food generally, it says written information supported by a conversation works best.

What this means for your website

Your ordering page is where most customers will make their choice, so it needs to do real work:

• Show the allergens in each dish next to the dish, not on a separate page that customers have to hunt for.
• Add a clear statement saying where customers can get allergen information before they order. The delivery guidance specifically suggests this.
• Keep it current. The guidance says records should be kept up to date and recipes reviewed whenever they change, so a new sauce supplier or a changed recipe should trigger a menu update.
• If you sell through an external ordering website, check what that platform asks of you. The guidance notes such platforms may have their own requirements. It does not say how responsibility is split, so do not assume the platform covers you.

If your online ordering is built on a system that lets you tag each item with allergens, updates become a one minute job rather than a reprint. That is one of the practical things we look at when building ordering platforms.

What happens at the kitchen and the door

The delivery guidance covers more than the website. It says takeaway meals should be labelled clearly so customers know which dishes are suitable for someone with an allergy. For an order placed as allergen free, it should be clear on delivery which container it is in, and it suggests stickers or a note on the container.

It also asks businesses to identify and remove cross-contamination risks in delivery, including packing meals securely and storing allergen free meals separately in transit. And staff taking orders should have clear written allergen information to refer to, rather than relying on memory.

Be honest about what you cannot guarantee

The allergen guidance is direct on this point. If you cannot prevent cross-contamination through separation by time and space, do not make gluten free or wheat free claims. It also says: "If you can't avoid cross-contamination in food preparation, you should inform customers that you can't provide an allergen-free dish." Even vegan meals are not always free from animal-based allergens because of low level cross-contamination, and you need to be clear about that risk.

For a small kitchen with one fryer and one prep area, this usually means a short, honest line on the menu rather than a promise you cannot keep.

Staff training and enforcement

Food businesses must make sure staff are trained on allergens. The guidance points to free food allergy training, an allergen checklist for staff and the Safer food, better business packs. Local authorities enforce the rules. If you do not comply, they can act, and if you do not follow the advice of an officer they can issue an improvement notice. Failing to meet that notice can lead to a penalty, and in some cases prosecution. You have 14 days from the date of an improvement notice to appeal. The guidance also points to the plain human risk of making a customer seriously ill, along with financial and reputational damage.

What people are saying

Looking at tech community discussion, the mood is practical rather than angry. Developers are building tools to filter menus by allergen, and the common theme is that eating out with an allergy is still hard because information is difficult to find. That is a useful reminder: customers with allergies will reward the business that makes the answer obvious.

A checklist for this week

• Open your online menu on a phone and check every dish shows its allergens.
• Add a visible line telling customers where to get allergen information before ordering.
• Decide how allergen information reaches the customer on delivery: a sticker, a slip or an enclosed menu.
• Agree a rule for allergen free orders: separate packing and a clear label.
• Print the allergen matrix for staff who take phone orders.
• Check whether any third party platform you use has its own allergen rules.
• Put a date in the diary to review recipes and the menu whenever a supplier or ingredient changes.

None of this needs expensive software, but a clear allergen field on every menu item makes the habit easy to keep. If your current website makes that hard, it is worth fixing before your next busy weekend. Our web design team can help.

This post is general information based on the government guidance and is not legal advice. Check the current guidance and speak to your local authority food safety team if you are unsure.