UK food allergy clarity & change

Food choices shouldn’t come with a guessing game.

Clear information. Confident choices. Safer food. A new independent UK campaign shaped by lived experience of severe food allergy.

Understand the basics Meet our first campaign

Guidance linked to official UK sources · checked August 2026

At the counter

“Could you tell me whether this contains peanuts or tree nuts?”

“Erm… I don’t know. You can check on this.”

Available is not the same as accessible.

Why this matters

Nobody should feel embarrassed for asking whether food could seriously harm them.

Too often, an allergic customer is handed a device or a dense matrix and left to work it out while everyone waits. Sometimes staff simply say they do not know. Confidence disappears immediately.

The burden should not sit entirely with the person at risk. Businesses need to provide information that is accurate, easy to understand and supported by people who know how to help.

Know the basics

Your rights, in plain English.

UK rules differ according to how food is sold. These are starting points—not personalised legal or medical advice.

Prepacked food

The ingredients list must clearly emphasise any of the 14 regulated allergens used in the product.

Made and packed on site

Food packed for direct sale must show its name, a full ingredients list and emphasised allergens under Natasha’s Law.

Cafés and restaurants

Businesses must provide accurate information about the regulated allergens in their food. Good information should be written, clear and supported by a conversation.

Important: “May contain” wording is voluntary precautionary information. FSA best practice says it should reflect a real, unavoidable cross-contact risk identified through assessment—not replace proper controls.

Read the FSA technical guidance

The regulated 14

Fourteen categories.
Countless real lives.

Food businesses must tell customers when any of these are used as ingredients or processing aids and remain present in the food. People can also be allergic to foods outside this legal list.

01GL

Gluten cereals

Wheat, rye, barley and oats

02CR

Crustaceans

Including prawns, crab and lobster

03EG

Eggs

Egg and products containing egg

04FI

Fish

Fish and products containing fish

05PE

Peanuts

Declared separately from tree nuts

06SO

Soya

Soya beans and products containing soya

07MI

Milk

Including lactose

08NU

Tree nuts

Eight named tree nuts are regulated

09CE

Celery

Including celeriac

10MU

Mustard

Mustard and mustard products

11SE

Sesame

Sesame seeds and products

12SU

Sulphites

Above the regulated concentration

13LU

Lupin

Lupin and lupin products

14MO

Molluscs

Including mussels, squid and snails

“Tree nuts” means almond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan, Brazil nut, pistachio and macadamia under the regulated list. Peanuts are legumes and must be identified separately.

Campaign 01 · Peanut & tree-nut allergy

Nuts About
No Nuts

Because “free from” should include us too.

We’re starting where our own experience began.

Severe nut allergy can turn a supermarket trip, restaurant meal or simple ice cream into a minefield. Our first campaign will ask major supermarkets, manufacturers and food chains for practical, measurable change.

Specific peanut and tree-nut information
Staff who know how to help — and never guess
Allergen details before the till or order point
Meaningful nut-free filters online and in apps
Risk-based, precise ‘may contain’ wording
More choice within supermarket free-from ranges

Constructive accountability

The supermarket scorecard.

Every major UK supermarket will be invited to answer the same questions. We will publish the evidence, recognise good practice and give every organisation a fair right to reply.

Our principle

We challenge systems—not individual frontline workers who have not been given the right training or tools.

Choice

The useful, affordable options actually available—not simply the size of a generic free-from range.

Labels

Clear ingredients, specific allergens and precautionary wording that helps rather than restricts.

Digital

Working peanut and tree-nut filters across websites, apps and online shopping.

People

Staff confidence, training and a clear route to someone who can give an accurate answer.

Process

How recipes, substitutions, shared equipment and cross-contact risks are controlled and communicated.

Progress

Whether the business answers openly, accepts gaps and commits to measurable improvement.

Why we started

This began with someone I love.

Living with a severe nut allergy means that even an ordinary food shop or meal out can carry anxiety, calculation and disappointment. A supermarket “free-from” aisle may offer dozens of alternatives to wheat or milk, only for many of them to contain nuts or carry a warning.

Then there is the moment at a counter: the question, the baffled look, the device passed across and the pressure of a queue building behind you. Sometimes it becomes easier to go without than to keep asking.

Nothing Left to Guess exists because safety, dignity and ordinary choice should belong to everyone.

Use trusted information

Start here.

Direct links to official guidance and reporting routes. Always check current packaging and speak directly to the food business or manufacturer.

Eating out

Ordering food with an allergy

Official FSA guidance on restaurants, takeaways and food packed for direct sale.

Open guidance ↗Raise a concern

Report a food problem

Find the correct route for misleading labelling, food safety or a local business concern.

See reporting routes ↗Stay informed

Food and allergy alerts

Subscribe directly to official Food Standards Agency alerts and recall information.

Sign up for alerts ↗Emergency knowledge

Recognising anaphylaxis

Learn the signs and the immediate steps recommended by the NHS.

Read NHS advice ↗

This site is UK-wide. Food Standards Agency guidance linked above applies to England, Wales and Northern Ireland unless stated otherwise. For Scotland, use Food Standards Scotland’s allergen guidance ↗.

Clear answers

A little less uncertainty.

Straightforward explanations based on current official UK guidance.

Are peanuts and tree nuts treated as the same allergen?

No. UK allergen rules list peanuts separately from the regulated tree-nut group. Information should be specific enough to tell people which risk is present.

Does “may contain” mean the product definitely contains the allergen?

No. It warns of a possible unintended presence through cross-contact. FSA best practice says precautionary wording should follow a risk assessment that identifies an unavoidable risk.

Is a free-from claim different?

Yes. FSA guidance describes an allergen free-from claim as a guarantee that the food is suitable for people with that allergy, supported by strict controls to eliminate cross-contamination risk.

Do the 14 regulated allergens cover every possible food allergy?

No. People can react to foods outside the regulated list. The 14 determine the mandatory information businesses must provide; they are not a complete list of everything that can cause a reaction.

A simple standard

Ask. Check. Confirm.
Never guess.

Allergen information should be clear, accessible and supported—not handed over with a shrug.

Explore Nuts About No Nuts Read official best practice ↗