Why hospitality businesses must act now on allergen guidance

By Josh Locke

In June 2025, the House of Lords discussed existing regulations around the way allergens are declared by businesses selling food and drink. If you run a pub, restaurant, bar, takeaway, hotel, a pop-up stall, or a national food chain, then you could soon be looking at a headache to make your menu(s) compliant.

Speaking on behalf of the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation was Baroness Jane Ramsey of Wall Heath, who asked His Majesty’s Government, following recent reports of a restaurant serving a meal containing nuts to a severely allergic customer in Stoke-on-Trent, what plans they have to promote information on allergens in England and Wales.

“Too many food allergic customers are still being put at risk when eating out or ordering food from an online platform.”
– Baroness Jane Ramsey

The Problem

I’m lucky that I don’t have a food allergy or live with someone who does, so I don’t have to think twice when reviewing a menu. But since working at Harrison Carloss and seeing their work for the Parogon Group, which involved developing a bespoke integrated menu system, I keep noticing how many businesses are failing to understand that they’re not doing enough.

We are relying on humans to be perfect, something I have found to be a complete contradiction to being human. Chefs have to avoid cross-contamination, servers have to ask every customer for allergies and pass the information on, and cross-check it with the menu, a menu that may not have been typed up to include all ingredients and allergens. With millions of dishes and drinks being served up daily in the UK, the chances of a mistake are more common than they should be.

I recently went to a popular pizza chain, and the server asked if anyone had any allergies, to which one member of our party said yes, and they were handed a separate, smaller menu to order from. This is a good system, if it is followed 100% of the time. Other restaurants I have been to don’t have a separate allergen menu. Their main menu states, ‘Please tell a member of staff if you have any food allergies’, and the server will simply check with the kitchen if a dish is safe to eat. This requires a chef to recall ingredients in breadcrumbs, pastries, sauces, seasonings and marinades that might not have been prepped by the kitchen themselves. The risk of a mistake is too high when the consequences can be fatal.

The Trouble with “Voluntary”

Back in March 2025, the Food Standards Agency released new guidance encouraging businesses to clearly communicate allergen information, both written and verbal, for all open food. But here’s the catch: it’s not mandatory.

Baroness Ramsey urged the government to make it law. The official response from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs was not the response that allergen charities in the UK were hoping for, after being told that an evaluation would indeed begin… in Spring 2026.

Despite this lengthy timeline, this does not mean there is a commitment to making any changes. It sounds like there will be a review of the effectiveness of existing guidance. In the meantime, it means we’re going to have more incidents. More fatalities. More hospitality businesses’ with their reputations destroyed forever.

Trust is the Key to Loyalty

Natasha’s Law changed the way pre-packed food is labelled — and it only happened after a tragedy. Now, thanks to continued campaigning by Natasha’s Foundation and new proposals like Owen’s Law, the conversation is turning toward restaurant, takeaway, and online ordering environments.

But while new legislation moves slowly, customers don’t.

The number one reason for loyalty among consumers at hospitality venues is trust.

• Trust that the quality of their meal is worthy of the price.
• Trust that they will be served in a good time and receive a sublime customer experience.
• Trust that their allergies are taken seriously and won’t pose a risk to their health.

And that’s where forward-thinking food operators and their marketing partners come in.

Protect Your Business, Your Staff and Your Customers

My advice would be, don’t wait for legislation to force your hand, do the right thing and improve the clarity around food allergens now to build stronger customer relationships. By aligning your operations with the FSA’s latest guidance as a minimum, you can help reassure your customers and encourage repeat business.

How Harrison Carloss Can Help

The work that we did for Parogon on their bespoke menu system was truly unique when it came to integrating with EPOS provider, Tevalis, to automate menus and allow for allergen filters on a digital version of the menu. We’re now working on a solution that any business can connect to their EPOS system and be up and running with a fully functional and compliant allergen menu in no time.

So whether you’re interested in a bespoke solution or something off-the-shelf, get in touch with us today to find out more about how we can help you stand out as a leader in the hospitality industry.