Your restaurant's allergen matrix

What it is and what it’s for

The allergen matrix (also called an allergen chart or allergen record) is a grid with all your dishes in rows and the 14 allergens of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011, also in force in the UK, in columns. Where they cross, you mark whether the dish contains that allergen or may contain traces of it.

It does three jobs:

• Answering customers with facts, not “I don’t think it has any”.
• Training staff: any server can check it, including the one who started yesterday.
• Showing that the information exists in writing, which is what the FSA recommends and what you’ll be asked about if you give allergen information verbally.

What it should include

• Every dish, with the same name as on the menu. Specials, off-menu desserts, sides, sauces and bread too.
• The 14 columns, in Annex II order.
• A distinction between “contains” and “may contain”, with different marks.
• The date of the last review.
• Name and signature of the person who checked it.
• Useful notes: “can be served without the sauce”, “gluten-free bread on request”.

A shortened example (the real matrix has all 14 columns):

● contains · ○ may contain traces (in this example, because of the shared fryer)

Where the information comes from

Not from memory. Reliable sources are:

• Your written recipes, with ingredients and quantities.
• Your suppliers’ labels and specification sheets. Keep them in a folder: they’re your evidence.
• Extra care with bought-in products: stocks, sausages and cooked meats, bread, sauces, ice cream, frozen battered products. That’s where unexpected allergens turn up.

Keeping it up to date

Review the matrix when:

• You change a recipe, even a detail (thickening the sauce with flour, finishing it with butter).
• You change supplier or the brand of a product.
• You add or remove dishes, or change the seasonal menu.
• For daily specials, every time the dishes change.

Keep previous versions with their date. If someone asks one day what was in a dish a month ago, you’ll have the answer.

Where to keep it

• A copy front of house or behind the bar, where staff can find it without searching.
• Another in the kitchen, next to the recipe cards.
• A notice customers can see, on the menu or on a sign: “Food allergies and intolerances: please ask a member of staff about the ingredients in our dishes.”

Make sure the whole team knows where it is and, when in doubt, checks it before answering. The FSA’s allergen guidance also has a free allergy sign you can print.

In the US. The same matrix works with the nine major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame). Where your state or city has adopted the 2022 FDA Food Code, customers must be told in writing about major allergens in unpackaged food, and a matrix kept up to date is the easiest way to back that up. Add a column for pine nuts, which the FDA counts as a tree nut and the EU list doesn’t.

The date and the signature

They aren’t a formality. The date tells you whether the matrix matches the current menu; the signature, who took responsibility for checking it. During an inspection or after a complaint, a dated, signed matrix shows that the information is handled seriously. If you’re unsure about the requirements in your area, ask your local environmental health team.

How to make it with MenuDesign

The matrix comes from the same data as your menu: the allergens you’ve marked on each dish. One click downloads an A4 with every dish and the 14 columns, with space for the date and signature. Print it, check it, sign it and put it in its place.

MenuDesign doesn’t decide which allergens each dish contains. It may suggest some from the name or the description, but you’re the one who checks and marks them. Whenever you change something on the menu, download the matrix again so the two match. For how to show allergens on the menu itself, see allergens on menus, and for the full list, the 14 allergens.