Allergens in Food
TL;DR
EU law requires 14 allergens to be clearly declared on food labels. Understanding the difference between 'contains' and 'may contain traces of' helps you make safer choices.
The 14 EU mandatory allergens
Under EU Regulation 1169/2011, these 14 allergens must be highlighted in the ingredients list whenever they are present:
- Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt)
- Crustaceans (shrimp, crab, lobster)
- Eggs
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Milk (including lactose)
- Tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamias)
- Celery
- Mustard
- Sesame seeds
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (>10 mg/kg)
- Lupin
- Molluscs (mussels, oysters, squid)
'Contains' vs 'May contain traces of'
'Contains' means the allergen is an ingredient in the product. 'May contain traces of' (or 'produced in a facility that also processes...') is a voluntary warning about potential cross-contamination during manufacturing. It is not legally required but is widely used.
Reading Polish allergen labels
On Polish packaging, allergens in the ingredients list are highlighted in bold or UPPERCASE. Look for 'Alergeny:' or 'Zawiera:' (Contains:) sections. The Polish terms for common allergens: mleko (milk), jaja (eggs), pszenica (wheat), soja (soybeans), orzechy (nuts), sezam (sesame), seler (celery), gorczyca (mustard).
Allergens in TryVit
We track allergen data from product labels and cross-reference it with ingredient lists. When allergen information is available, it's shown on the product profile page.