Allergens and your team
Allergens in hospitality. What every staff member needs to know.
A guest asks if there are nuts in the sauce. The answer has to be right, also when the new starter is at the table. Here are the 14 allergens, what the rules ask and how to get it into your team.
In short. You must be able to inform guests about 14 allergens. You can do that verbally, but then the information must also be ready in writing or electronically for your staff and the NVWA. Your team must know what is in each dish, or know where to find it.
The 14 allergens
This list comes from European Regulation 1169/2011. You must be able to name each of these substances when it is in a dish.
- Cereals containing glutenwheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut
- Crustaceansprawns, crab, lobster
- Eggs
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soya
- Milkincluding lactose
- Nutsalmond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan, Brazil nut, pistachio, macadamia
- Celery
- Mustard
- Sesame seeds
- Sulphitessulphur dioxide, from 10 mg per kilo or litre
- Lupin
- Molluscsmussels, oysters, squid
What the rules ask of your venue
You can choose how you inform the guest.
In writing
On the menu, on a card next to the product or on a digital menu. If that is not possible, you point to where the information can be found at every place you serve food.
Verbally
Then you make it clearly visible that guests can ask the staff. The information must still be available in writing or electronically for your staff and for the NVWA. Many venues use an allergen matrix for this: all dishes set against the 14 allergens.
Where it goes wrong
In a national inspection in 2021, the NVWA visited almost 3,200 restaurants, hotels and snack bars. More than 2,000 of them did not meet the rules for allergen information. A common problem: staff gave the information verbally, but it was not recorded anywhere. Then nobody can check whether it is right.
The cause is often not unwillingness. A new menu, a new team member, a busy night. The matrix is in the office and the answer is in the chef's head.
How to get it into your team
- One source. Keep the allergen matrix up to date and make sure everyone knows where it is.
- A briefing with every new menu. Go through the dishes with allergens before service starts.
- One fixed rule. Not sure? Check with the kitchen. Never guess.
- Repeat short and often. A few questions a day hold it better than one training a year.
How CuliQuiz does it
Send us your menu. We turn it into questions, with the allergens per dish. You check them. Your team plays three minutes every day and you see per topic how well your team knows the allergens.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 14 allergens?
Cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soya, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphites, lupin and molluscs. This list comes from European Regulation 1169/2011.
Can I give allergen information verbally?
Yes. Then it must be clearly visible to guests that they can ask staff for the information. The information itself must be available in writing or electronically for your staff and for the NVWA (the Dutch food safety authority), for example in an allergen matrix.
Do my staff need to know the allergens?
Yes. Whoever informs the guest must know which allergens are in a dish or know where to find it. When in doubt, always check with the kitchen.
What does the NVWA check?
Whether you can inform guests about the 14 allergens in your dishes. And whether that information can be checked. With verbal information, the inspector checks whether it is also recorded in writing or electronically.
Sources
- KHN: what does allergen legislation mean for me? (Dutch)
- NVWA: allergens (Dutch)
- Food Safety News: Dutch control finds gaps in allergen information (2022)
- Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, Annex II
This page is a practical summary, not legal advice. Check the current rules with the NVWA.