Reporting a genuine concern is not about attacking a business. It creates a factual record, gives the responsible organisation a chance to investigate and helps regulators identify problems that may affect other people.

First decide what kind of problem occurred

01

A medical emergency

Prioritise emergency treatment. Use an adrenaline auto-injector if available, call 999 and follow the person’s emergency plan. Reporting comes later.

02

A local food-business concern

Problems involving a restaurant, café, takeaway or locally supplied food can be reported to the local authority food-safety team.

03

A missing or misleading label

The FSA advises contacting Trading Standards where a label is missing required information or is misleading about ingredients or allergens.

04

A product or retailer response

Contact the manufacturer or retailer so they can identify the exact product, batch, store or service and investigate quickly.

Evidence worth preserving

  • Clear photographs of every side of the packaging, label, menu or allergen screen.
  • The product name, pack size, barcode, batch or lot code and best-before or use-by date.
  • The business name, branch, location, date and approximate time.
  • The exact question asked and the answer given—recorded factually rather than reconstructed later.
  • The receipt, order number and screenshots of the information available before purchase.
  • Details of any substitution, incorrect container, reaction or medical treatment.

Keep the original item where safe

Packaging and batch details can be more useful than a social-media post.

If it is safe and practical, keep the product and original packaging isolated and follow any storage advice. Do not put yourself at further risk by handling or testing suspected food. Share medical or personal information only with the organisations that genuinely need it.

A clear report structure

  1. What happened?Give a short factual description without assumptions about cause.
  2. Which food and business?Include the exact identifying details, location and order information.
  3. What allergen information was available?Attach the label, menu, app screen or conversation record.
  4. What was the outcome?Explain any exposure, reaction, discarded order or medical treatment.
  5. What response are you seeking?Ask for investigation findings, corrective action and confirmation that wider risk has been considered.

Sharing an experience with our campaign

You can also send a factual account to contact@nothinglefttoguess.co.uk. Nothing Left to Guess is not a regulator and contacting us does not replace reporting through the appropriate official route. We will not publish identifying information or allegations without checking the evidence and seeking a fair response.

Evidence base

Official sources