UK food businesses must tell customers if any of the 14 allergens listed in law are in the food they serve. An allergen matrix is the simplest way to keep that information in one place: every dish down one side, every allergen across the top.
The 14 allergens
What an allergen matrix looks like
| Dish | Gluten | Milk | Eggs | Fish | Mustard | Sulphites |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic burger | ||||||
| Fish & chips | ||||||
| Chicken Caesar | ||||||
| Halloumi wrap |
Example only. A real matrix covers all 14 allergens and is built from your own recipes and supplier labels. Fish appears in the Caesar because classic Caesar dressing contains anchovy, which is easy to miss.
How to build one that stays accurate
- Start from ingredients, not dishesRecord the allergens for each ingredient from the supplier’s label or spec sheet.
- Build dishes from those ingredientsA dish contains every allergen in every ingredient that goes into it, including sauces, dressings and garnishes.
- Update it every time something changesNew supplier, new brand, recipe tweak. The matrix has to change the same day.
- Make it easy for staff to findFront of house should be able to check any dish in seconds.
The Food Standards Agency’s best practice guidance asks businesses to give allergen information in writing, rather than only by word of mouth. A matrix makes that easy. For legal advice on your own setup, speak to your local authority or the FSA.
Key points
- All 14 allergens must be declared when they’re in your food
- Build the matrix from ingredients, so dishes update with them
- A supplier swap can change a dish’s allergens
- Keep it in writing and easy for staff to check
Sources
DishProfit’s Allergen Matrix updates from your recipes
Record the 14 allergens once per ingredient. DishProfit builds the matrix for every dish from its recipe, with a plain-English “contains” line, so it’s right the moment you change a recipe.
- All 14 UK allergens per ingredient
- Full menu matrix, filled in for you
- Allergens shown on each recipe card
