Business 2026-02-25 5 min By Cornelious Fazal

QR Code for Food Allergen Information: A Restaurateur's Compliance Guide (EU & UK)

Quick Answer

EU and UK law requires restaurants to provide full allergen information on all 14 major allergens. QR codes linking to allergen matrices are the standard.

The Legal Requirement for Allergen Information

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about food allergen regulations. It is not legal advice. Consult your food safety authority or a qualified food law professional for advice specific to your country, region, and establishment.

Under EU Regulation 1169/2011 (also retained in UK law as the Food Information Regulations 2014), food businesses selling non-prepacked or loose food must provide information about 14 major allergens on request. These are: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, nuts (tree nuts), peanuts, sesame seeds, soya, and sulphur dioxide/sulphites.

Natasha's Law (UK, October 2021) extended this requirement to pre-packaged food prepared and sold on the same premises, requiring full ingredient labelling including allergen emphasis.

QR codes are explicitly accepted by the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) as a valid method of providing allergen information to customers, subject to specific conditions.

The FSA Conditions for QR Code Allergen Compliance

A QR code alone is not sufficient for legal compliance in England, Wales, and Scotland, and in most EU member states. The following conditions must be met:

  • In-person disclosure must remain available: Customers must also be able to receive allergen information verbally from staff on request. The QR code is a supplement to verbal provision, not a replacement.
  • Clear and conspicuous display: The QR code must be accompanied by a visible statement directing customers to scan it for allergen information, for example: "Allergen information for all menu items is available by scanning this code or by asking a member of staff."
  • The linked information must be accurate and current: If the menu changes, the allergen information at the linked URL must be updated before the new menu is served. An inaccurate allergen declaration creates legal and safety liability regardless of the delivery format.
  • Accessible to all customers: Because not all customers have smartphones, the QR code cannot be the only method. Printed allergen matrices must remain available to customers who cannot or choose not to scan.

What Your Allergen QR Code Must Link To

The destination of your allergen QR code must contain a complete allergen matrix for your current menu:

  • Every dish listed on the current menu.
  • A column for each of the 14 major allergens.
  • A clear ✔/✗ or YES/NO for each dish-allergen combination.
  • A clear date or version number indicating when the information was last updated.
  • A statement that customers should notify staff of any allergy concerns and that cross-contamination risks cannot be entirely eliminated in a shared kitchen environment.

The format must be accessible: a PDF hosted on your website, a Google Doc (published as a web page or PDF share link), or a dedicated allergen management web page. A PDF hosted on Google Drive with a public share link is the simplest implementation for small restaurants.

Step-by-Step: Creating Your Allergen QR Code

Step 1: Create Your Allergen Matrix

Use Google Sheets or Excel to build a table with dishes in rows and the 14 allergens in columns. Fill each cell with YES, NO, or MAY CONTAIN (for cross-contamination risk). Export as PDF or publish the Google Sheet as a web page (File → Publish to the Web).

Step 2: Host It at a Stable URL

Upload the PDF to your website (e.g. yourrestaurant.com/allergens) or to Google Drive with the share link set to "Anyone with the link can view." Critically: use a permanent, stable URL. If the URL changes, all your printed QR codes become invalid.

Step 3: Generate the Allergen QR Code

  1. Open our Free QR Code Generator.
  2. Select URL. Paste your allergen matrix URL.
  3. Click Generate. Download as SVG.
  4. Print at minimum 3×3 inches. Place on menus, at the counter, and on A-boards.

Step 4: Update Regularly

Every time the menu changes - new dishes added, recipes modified, ingredients substituted - update the allergen matrix at the same URL before the new menu is served. The QR code never changes. The document it links to is always current.

Best Practice: What to Print on Your Menu Alongside the QR Code

Add this text verbatim (or adapted to your jurisdiction) alongside every allergen QR code display:

"Allergen information for all dishes is available by scanning this code. If you have a food allergy or intolerance, please inform your server before ordering. Full allergen details are also available from our staff on request. While we take every care to prevent cross-contamination, our kitchen handles all 14 major allergens."

This statement covers both the QR route and the verbal route, acknowledges cross-contamination risk, and satisfies the FSA/EU guidance on customer communication.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. The UK Food Standards Agency requires that allergen information also be available verbally from staff on request, because not all customers have smartphones or are able to scan QR codes. The QR code is a valid and encouraged method to supplement verbal disclosure, but it cannot replace it. Both must be available simultaneously. Display signage directing customers to both options should always accompany the code.

You do not need a dynamic QR code to update your allergen information. The simpler and cost-free approach is to generate a static QR code linking to a stable URL on your own website or Google Drive, then update the content at that URL whenever the menu changes. The static code never changes. The allergen document it links to is always current. Dynamic codes add subscription cost and platform dependency for no additional compliance benefit.

Providing inaccurate allergen information - whether in print, verbally, or via a QR code - creates significant legal and regulatory liability. In the UK, providing false or misleading allergen information to a customer who suffers illness or death as a result can result in criminal prosecution under the Food Safety Act 1990. This is why maintaining the currency of the allergen document at the QR code destination is a critical operational requirement, not an optional one.

Yes. EU 1169/2011 and the UK Food Information Regulations apply to all food businesses selling non-prepacked food to the public, including mobile catering, market stalls, pop-up food vendors, and street food traders. The regulatory requirement for allergen information does not exempt any commercial food selling operation based on its size, format, or physical structure.

UK and EU food law requires labelling for allergens - substances that can trigger an immune response and potentially life-threatening anaphylaxis. The 14 major allergen groups are specifically defined in law. Food intolerances (such as lactose intolerance, which is an enzyme deficiency rather than an immune response) are not subject to the same legal labelling requirement, though providing this information as a matter of good practice is increasingly expected by customers.
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