Food allergens
Where to find information if you have an allergic reaction to food
A food allergy occurs when the body's immune system reacts to specific foods. Although allergic reactions are often mild, they can be serious. And the only way to manage the condition is to avoid food that makes the person ill.
European legislation, backed by science, ensures that allergen advice can be found on food packaging.
How can people be affected by food allergens?
An allergic reaction can be produced by a tiny amount of a food ingredient that a person is sensitive to. Symptoms of an allergic reaction can be mild (itching or a rash) but can progress to more severe symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, wheezing and on occasion anaphylaxis (shock).
Food intolerances are when people have difficulty digesting certain substances, such as gluten, and experience bloating, stomach cramps, and diarrhoea.
So, it’s really important to be able to easily identify allergens on food labels.
Which food ingredients cause allergenic reactions?
People typically suffer from allergies to nuts, shellfish, and certain fruits. In the EU there are 14 food allergens that must indicated if they are used as ingredients in your food:
- Cereals containing gluten - wheat, rye, barley, oats.
- Crustaceans, e.g., crabs, prawns, lobsters
- Eggs
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Milk
- Nuts - almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia/Queensland nut
- Celery
- Mustard
- Sesame seeds
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites used as a preservative (at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/L in terms of total sulphur dioxide)
- Lupin
- Molluscs, e.g., mussels, oysters, squid, snails
By checking ingredients on labels of prepacked foods which provide allergen ingredients and information for non-prepacked foods, this means people can steer clear if they are allergic.
Food allergens in numbers*
- 1% of the EU population – 4.5 million people
- 75% of allergic reactions among children are caused by egg, peanut, cows' milk, fish and nuts
- 50% of allergic reactions among adults are to fruits including apples, pears cherries, raspberries, strawberries and almonds, vegetables like celery, carrots and aromatic herbs, and various nuts and peanuts
The labelling requirements for allergenic ingredients on food products are crucial so that people with allergies can avoid ingredients that can make them sick. As well as giving advice for use in labelling, scientists also evaluate new ingredients in case they are potential allergens and look at how factors like food processing might affect allergenic potential.
Antonio Fernandez Dumont, protein safety specialist at EFSA.
European scientists responsible for food allergies contributed their scientific advice to the legislative process for the labelling of food. The science of allergens continues to evolve so this list could be updated in future.
