Restaurants and takeaways across the UK will now be required to tell customers if their food contains allergy-triggering ingredients.
The new measures came into effect last Sunday (7 December) and mean that staff must provide information on 14 everyday allergens including nuts, milk, celery, gluten, soya and wheat.
Those affected include bakeries, cafes, care homes and packaged produce sold by supermarkets.
Currently, around five thousand people need hospital treatment in response to allergic reactions each year, with an estimated one million people suffering from allergies within the UK.
The new legislation, called the EU FIC Food Information for Consumers Regulation, is a next-step measure towards ensuring that businesses are accountable for the safety of their customers – with recent new food safety legislation within the UK intended to serve a similar purpose.
It arrives just a week before new legislation about how food must be labelled comes into effect. From 13 December, food manufacturers will be required to abide by set standards for labelling nutrition information on processed foods across the EU, including both pre-packaged and unpacked foods.
Talking of the new law, Lindsey McManus, from Allergy UK, said: “We hope that restaurants will see the advantage of going this extra mile as it offers huge benefits to the allergic customer and this will only encourage business.
“It will enable people to eat out in confidence, knowing that allergens are monitored in dishes, and that the regulations are being adhered to.”
Businesses are able to choose how they give the information on allergens contained in their food, including through conservations with the customer, leaflets or through the menu.