12 May 2025

Food Labelling Rules and the 14 Allergen Groups That Must Be Declared

The Ministry shared an explainer summarising the purpose and scope of food labelling legislation. The rules set the conditions for written and visual information and for the terms used in labelling, promotion, presentation and advertising, so that consumers are informed correctly and not misled. The scope covers all foods intended for the final consumer, foods prepared for mass catering establishments and foods supplied between food business operators, and separate rules govern nutrition claims. The text lists 14 ingredient groups that must be declared as allergens when used in production and present in the final product, even in altered form: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, tree nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, lupin and molluscs, together with products derived from them.