Home > Food Information Law (Allergens)

According to regulation, known as the Food Information Law (Allergens), since December, 2014, every food operator is obliged to report on the allergens present in its products through a system that allows them to be clearly identified.

What are the allergens I should inform about?

Although there are many possible allergens, only those containing any of the following 14 elements* are required to be reported:

• Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, etc)
• Crustaceans and products thereof
• Eggs and products thereof
• Fish and products thereof
• Peanuts and products thereof
• Soyabean and soyabean based products
• Milk and products thereof (including lactose)
• Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, etc.)
• Celery and products thereof
• Mustard and products thereof
• Sesame seeds and products thereof
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
• Molluscs and products thereof
• Lupin and products thereof

Who must comply with the Food Information Law (Allergens)?

• Restaurants
• Bars
• Caterings
• Hotels
• Public canteens (schools, hospitals, etc.)
• Vending machines
• And similar businesses

What is the purpose of this regulation?

The purpose of the 1169/2011 Regulation is to respond to the need for specific legislation on food labelling and to oblige local authorities to provide consumers with all the information on the 14 allergens that can be found in the dishes and foods they offer.

Regulation on allergens

How can you inform about these allergens?

The regulations governing food allergens provide that information can be given in various forms, but what is required is to ensure high protection, i.e., the specific name of the allergen contained in the food (e.g., shrimp instead of crustacean or cuttlefish instead of mollusc)

Thus, the information can be found on labels affixed to pre-packaged food, labeled on posters or by other appropriate means (a menu or letter, or orally, or through a recipe book of the products sold in the establishment.

In any case, the information must be easily accessible to the consumer and may in no case entail additional costs. In buffets and self-service restaurants, information should be posted next to or near the food on signs clearly visible to the consumer.

It is important to know that, although the information is provided orally, there must also be a record, either physically or electronically.

What happens if you do not comply? Possible sanctions.

Violations committed by companies that do not comply with food safety regulations are sanctioned with fines ranging from 5,000 to 600,000 €, and in the case of very serious violations, the competent public authorities may agree to close the establishment for a maximum of 5 years.

Labelling requirements

The European standard establishes the correct labelling regulation, indicating that it must be clear and legible. To this end, a minimum font size for the mandatory information of 1.2 mm is set. However, if the maximum surface area of a container is less than 80 cm², the minimum size is reduced to 0.9 mm.

If it is less than 25 cm², nutritional information is not mandatory. For packages with a larger surface area of less than 10 cm², there is no need for nutrition labelling or ingredient listing.

However, the name of the food, the presence of possible allergens, the net quantity and the date of minimum durability must always be indicated, regardless of the size of the package.

Non-mandatory nutritional information

Unprocessed products that include a single ingredient or a single category of ingredients are not required to incorporate nutrition information on the label.

• Processed products whose only transformation has been to be cured and which include a single ingredient or a single category of ingredients.
• Water intended for human consumption, including water whose only added ingredients are carbon dioxide or flavourings
• An aromatic plant, a spice or a mixture of them.
• Salt and salt substitutes.
• Sweeteners

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