Allergen matrix template for restaurants and cafés (UK and Ireland)

What is an allergen matrix and do you need one?

Allergen questions come at the worst moments: a full Saturday service, a new member of staff, a customer who says “I’m allergic to sesame, is the burger safe?”. Without a written record, the answer depends on who is working that day. With a matrix, anyone can check in ten seconds.

This guide gives you a template to copy, the official list of allergens, the rules that apply in each jurisdiction, and a step-by-step method to fill the matrix from your recipes and supplier labels. It is written for restaurants, cafés, pubs that serve food, bakeries, delis and B&Bs that cook breakfast.

Which 14 allergens must you declare?

The FSA lists the same 14 allergens that apply across the EU and Ireland:

The right-hand column is a reminder, not a rule: only your recipe and the labels of the products you buy tell you what a dish contains. Bought-in sauces, stock cubes and bread are where most mistakes start.

Allergen matrix template you can copy

One row per dish, one column per allergen, a tick wherever the dish contains it. The first two rows show how a fictional café might fill it; your ticks must come from your own recipes.

Under the matrix, add a short footer:

Allergen matrix – [Business name] – last updated [date] – checked by [name]

✓ = this dish contains the allergen or an ingredient made from it. Our kitchen handles all 14 allergens.

Food allergy or intolerance? Please speak to a member of staff before you order.

The FSA also publishes a free allergen matrix and an allergy sign you can download from its allergen guidance page (see sources). If you prefer your own version, the structure above follows the same logic.

What are the rules in England, Wales and Northern Ireland?

The FSA’s allergen guidance (updated in July 2026) applies to England, Northern Ireland and Wales. Scotland has its own regulator, Food Standards Scotland, so check its guidance if you trade there.

The FSA adds that “written allergen information, supported by a conversation, works best for consumers”, and that food businesses must make sure staff receive allergen training. A matrix is the written part; your team’s training is the conversation.

Food allergies and intolerances: before you order your food and drinks, please speak to our staff if you want to know about our ingredients.

This is the kind of notice the FSA asks for when information is given verbally. Place it on the menu, at the till and on your website’s menu page.

What is Natasha’s Law (PPDS labelling)?

Natasha’s Law is the common name for the prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) labelling rules, named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse. Since 1 October 2021, food packed on the same premises where it is sold, before the customer orders it, must carry:

• the name of the food
• a full ingredients list, under a heading that includes the word “ingredients”, in descending order of weight
• the 14 allergens emphasised within that list

Typical PPDS foods: sandwiches and salads made in the morning and placed in a self-service chiller, cakes wrapped at the counter before the customer arrives, pots of soup filled in advance. Food made to order and packed in front of the customer is not PPDS; it is loose food, covered by the rules in the previous section.

What changes in Ireland?

Ireland applies the same 14 allergens, but national legislation (S.I. No. 489 of 2014) is stricter on the format. According to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI):

• allergen information for non-prepacked food must be provided in writing, at the point of presentation, sale or supply, before the customer buys;
• it can be handwritten or printed, in English or in Irish and English;
• it must name the dish: “Our food contains…” is not acceptable, “Spaghetti Bolognese – contains milk, celery, wheat” is;
• customers must not have to ask for it;
• a QR code on its own is not enough: digital information can complement the written information but not replace it.

So in an Irish restaurant, café or pub, the matrix (or allergens printed next to each dish) must be in front of customers, not kept behind the bar.

How to fill the matrix without mistakes

1. List every item you serve: menu dishes, specials board, sides, sauces, desserts, breakfast items, hot drinks with syrups or alternative milks.
2. Write a recipe sheet for each, including oil, stock, garnish and bread. The FSA recommends recording allergen information on product specification sheets and keeping it up to date.
3. Read the label of every bought-in product. Allergens are emphasised in the ingredients list.
4. Tick the matrix for each allergen present, even in small amounts.
5. Have someone else check it, then date and sign it.
6. Brief the team: where the matrix is, and the rule “check, ask the kitchen, never guess”.

• Specials and seasonal dishes included
• Sauces and dressings served on the side included
• Supplier changes trigger a review
• Date of last update visible
• Online menu and delivery apps match the matrix

Allergens on your online menu and delivery apps

Customers with allergies often check the menu before they book. Showing allergens on your website saves them a call and saves you a difficult conversation at the table. For distance selling, the FSA asks for information before the purchase is completed and at delivery, so your online menu and your delivery listings need the same data as your matrix.

• Put allergens under each dish on your website menu, with the same “last updated” date as the matrix.
• If you use a QR code at the table, keep a printed version too (and in Ireland, written information is required anyway). Our free menu QR code generator creates the code, and our guide adding your menu to Google links it to your Google profile.
• Update delivery platforms at the same time as the matrix: one source of truth, copied everywhere.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Filling the matrix from memory instead of recipes and labels.
• Forgetting the specials board: today’s soup needs allergen information too.
• Switching supplier without a review: a new brand of buns may add sesame.
• Ticking “may contain” everywhere: customers with allergies can no longer choose anything, and the information loses its value. Be specific about real cross-contact risks instead.
• Hiding the folder in the office: customers should not have to struggle to find it, and in Ireland they must not have to ask.
• Untrained staff: allergen training is a legal duty, not a nice-to-have.

For more on running a small hospitality business: Voxtya for restaurants and our guide to food cost and menu pricing, which uses the same recipe sheets.

The steps at a glance

Steps to build, display and maintain a 14-allergen matrix.

1. List every item. Menu dishes, specials, sides, sauces, desserts and drinks.
2. Write recipe sheets. All ingredients for each item, including bought-in products.
3. Check supplier labels. Note the allergens emphasised in each ingredients list.
4. Fill the matrix. One row per dish, one column per allergen, a tick where present.
5. Check, date and sign. A second person reviews; the update date is shown.
6. Display it. In front of customers, with a visible notice; in writing in Ireland.
7. Keep it current. Review after any recipe, supplier or menu change, and update online menus.

This guide for your trade

• Restaurant
• Bar and pub
• Bakery
• Hotel and B&B

Go further

• Food cost and menu pricing
• Restaurant QR menu: free guide
• Add your menu to your Google Business Profile
• Legal pages for a small business website
• Create a restaurant website