A clear food allergen management protocol is an essential part of any food business’s food safety management system. This free template provides a practical framework for managing allergen information, preventing cross-contact, training staff and responding to customer allergen enquiries. It can be used as a starting point for developing your own documented procedures, but should always be reviewed and adapted to reflect your menu, processes and legal responsibilities.
Purpose
This protocol sets out the procedures for safely managing food allergens within the business. Its purpose is to protect customers with food allergies or intolerances, reduce the risk of allergen cross-contact, ensure legal compliance and provide staff with clear instructions for handling allergen enquiries.
This protocol applies to all employees, including permanent, temporary, seasonal and agency staff.
Policy Statement
The business is committed to providing accurate allergen information and preparing food safely. Every allergen enquiry must be treated seriously. Staff must never guess, assume or estimate allergen content.
If there is any doubt about the ingredients, preparation or risk of cross-contact, the food must not be served as suitable for the customer.
Responsibilities
Management
Management will maintain accurate allergen information for every menu item, ensure recipes and supplier specifications remain up to date, provide allergen awareness training before staff begin handling or serving food, monitor compliance with this protocol, investigate allergen incidents and near misses, and keep training records.
All Employees
Every member of staff must complete allergen awareness training, understand the 14 regulated allergens, follow this protocol at all times, report recipe or ingredient changes immediately, and report any allergen incident or near miss to management.
Staff Training
All new employees, agency workers and temporary staff must receive allergen awareness training before working unsupervised.
Training must include the 14 regulated allergens, cross-contact prevention, reading ingredient labels, how to answer allergen enquiries, communication between front-of-house and kitchen staff, and emergency reporting procedures.
Refresher training should be completed at least annually or whenever menus, recipes or legislation change.
The 14 Regulated Allergens
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs
- Mustard
- Peanuts
- Sesame
- Soya
- Sulphur dioxide/Sulphites
- Tree nuts
Customer Enquiries
Whenever a customer declares an allergy:
- Stop and listen carefully.
- Never guess.
- Check the current allergen information.
- Confirm with the kitchen if required.
- Inform the customer honestly if a dish cannot be guaranteed safe.
- Record any special allergen order using the business procedure.
Every allergen request must be clearly communicated from front-of-house to the kitchen.
Preventing Cross-Contact
Staff must wash hands before preparing allergen meals, use clean equipment, use clean chopping boards and utensils, clean and sanitise work surfaces, use fresh gloves where appropriate, store allergenic ingredients correctly, prevent contact between allergen and non-allergen foods, avoid using shared oils where allergen contamination may occur, and plate allergen meals separately.
Ingredients and Recipe Changes
Whenever an ingredient changes, staff must check the supplier specification, update allergen information immediately, inform all staff before the product is used, and review specials before sale.
Never assume a replacement product contains the same allergens.
Deliveries
When receiving food, staff must check labels, verify allergen declarations, report discrepancies immediately, and not use unidentified products.
Cleaning
Cleaning must minimise allergen cross-contact.
Staff must follow the cleaning schedule, use separate cleaning cloths where required, clean equipment thoroughly between allergen tasks, and empty food waste regularly.
Agency and Temporary Staff
Agency staff must receive allergen induction before starting work, work under supervision until competent, know who to ask for allergen information, and never answer customer allergen questions unless authorised.
If Something Goes Wrong
If incorrect food is prepared, staff must stop service immediately, not serve the meal, inform the supervisor, prepare a new meal using safe procedures, record the incident, and investigate the cause.
If an allergen mistake reaches a customer, follow the business emergency procedures immediately.
Records
The following records must be maintained: staff allergen training, allergen matrices, recipe updates, supplier specifications, corrective actions, near misses, and allergen incidents.
Review
This protocol shall be reviewed every 12 months, following any allergen incident, following menu changes, and following changes to legislation or Food Standards Agency guidance.
Key Principle
If you are not completely certain, do not serve the food. Stop, check and confirm before the meal leaves the kitchen.
Food allergen management matters
Use this protocol to support safer food handling, clearer staff communication and consistent allergen decisions across your business. Regular training, accurate records and careful checks help reduce risk and protect customers every time food is prepared, served or discussed.
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