Allergens on home-made cakes: how to label them in the EU
An allergy to nuts, milk or eggs can be life-threatening, which is why allergen information is one of the few rules that applies to every cake you sell, including the one you bake to order. This guide gives you the list of 14 allergens with examples from the pastry kitchen, the difference between prepacked and non-prepacked products, how national rules differ across the EU, what belongs on a label, when to write a 'may contain' statement and how to avoid cross-contact in a small kitchen.
In short
Every cake or pastry you sell must declare its allergens. For prepacked products the allergens are emphasised in the ingredients list on the label. For non-prepacked products (counter, market, made to order) EU law requires the allergen information, but each member state decides how it is given, so check your national rule before you rely on speaking to customers.
- Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists 14 allergens that must always be declared.
- Allergen information is mandatory for non-prepacked food too (Article 44): cakes at the counter, at markets and made to order.
- Each member state sets how non-prepacked allergen information is given: some require writing, some allow speaking if a written record is available.
- The Commission states that allergen information cannot be provided only on request of the consumer.
- 'May contain' statements are voluntary, must not mislead and should rest on a real risk assessment.
- For distance sales, allergen information must be available before the purchase is concluded.
- allergens listed in Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011
- 14
- minimum x-height of mandatory label text (0.9 mm on packs under 80 cm²)
- 1.2 mm
- sulphite level above which sulphites must be declared
- 10 mg/kg
- maximum gluten for a 'gluten-free' claim
- 20 mg/kg
The 14 allergens and where they hide in pastry
Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists 14 substances or groups you must declare, and in pastry the most common are gluten, eggs, milk, nuts, peanuts, soy and sulphites.
The list is the same across the EU and applies to a large producer and a home baker alike. You must declare an allergen that is an ingredient or a processing aid, even in a small amount. For cereals containing gluten and for nuts, a generic word is not enough: name the cereal (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, khorasan wheat) or the nut (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia).
Allergens hide in bought-in ingredients too: chocolate, fondant, flavourings, fillings, raising agents and mixes. Read the label of every ingredient and keep a copy.
| Allergen | Where it often hides in pastry |
|---|---|
| Cereals containing gluten | wheat, spelt and rye flour, semolina, biscuit crumbs in bases, rolled oats, malt extract |
| Crustaceans | rare in pastry; check savoury bakes, spice mixes and sauces |
| Eggs | batters, creams, meringue, glazes and egg wash, some marzipan, egg lecithin |
| Fish | rare; fish gelatine or isinglass in some gelling products |
| Peanuts | peanut butter, pralines, some cookies and chocolate spreads, nut mixes |
| Soybeans | soy lecithin (E322) in chocolate and fillings, soy flour in bakery mixes |
| Milk (including lactose) | butter, cream, milk powder, milk and white chocolate, cream cheese, caramel |
| Nuts | marzipan, nougat, gianduja, pralines, almond flour in macarons, brittle |
| Celery | savoury bakes and spice mixes; rare in sweets |
| Mustard | savoury bakes, sauces and fillings; rare in sweets |
| Sesame seeds | tahini, halva, seeds on bread and cookies, sesame brittle |
| Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (over 10 mg/kg) | dried and candied fruit, raisins, wine, some fruit concentrates and jams |
| Lupin | lupin flour in some bakery and gluten-free mixes |
| Molluscs | practically never in sweets; check savoury fillings |
Prepacked or non-prepacked: why it matters
A prepacked cake is wrapped and closed before the customer sees it; a non-prepacked cake is sold loose, from the counter, to order, or packed at the point of sale at the customer's request.
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 defines prepacked food as a single item presented as such to the final consumer. For food offered without prepackaging, Article 44 applies: the allergen particulars are mandatory, while other particulars are only required if a member state adopts national rules.
In practice a box of cookies you pack at home and sell at a market is normally prepacked. A slice from a display, or a cake the customer orders and collects, is non-prepacked. If you are unsure which category a product falls into, ask your national food authority.
| Prepacked | Non-prepacked | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples | closed box of cookies, wrapped pralines, cake in a closed box | slice from the counter, cake made to order, market stall |
| Allergens | mandatory on the label, emphasised in the ingredients list | mandatory, in the form set by the member state |
| Other particulars | all mandatory particulars of Article 9 | only if national rules require them |
| Legal basis | Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 | Article 44 and national rules |
National rules for non-prepacked cakes
Article 44 lets each member state decide how allergen information on non-prepacked food is provided, so the rule differs by country: some demand writing, others allow oral information if a written record exists.
The Commission notice on allergen information explains that all means of communication are possible in principle, including oral information, and that where no national rule exists the information should be given in written form. It also states that allergen information cannot be provided only on request of the consumer. Three examples show how the rules differ.
| Country | Rule in short | Source act |
|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | Written, in Slovenian, on the food, next to it or in a collective form where the food is presented (e.g. a catalogue) | Pravilnik o splošnem označevanju živil, ki niso predpakirana (OJ RS 66/2016, 8/2017) |
| Germany | Written notice that is clearly visible and legible; oral information allowed if given by the business or trained staff, a written or electronic record exists and a visible note says that information is given orally | LMIDV, § 4 |
| France | The information is given on the food itself or close to it | Code de la consommation, Art. R. 112-12 (Decree 2015-447) |
What goes on the label of a prepacked cake or cookie box
A label needs the name of the food, the ingredients with allergens emphasised, the net quantity, a date, storage conditions, the operator's name and address, and usually a nutrition declaration.
Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists the mandatory particulars. For pastry, the practical ones are:
- Name of the food, for example 'hazelnut chocolate cake'.
- List of ingredients in descending order of weight as used in manufacture (Article 18).
- Allergens emphasised in the ingredients list through a typeset that clearly distinguishes them, such as bold type, a different style or a background colour (Article 21), for example wheat flour, milk, hazelnuts.
- Net quantity in grams or kilograms.
- Date: 'best before' or 'use by'. Bakers' or pastry cooks' wares that are normally consumed within 24 hours of manufacture are exempt from the minimum durability date (Annex X, point 1).
- Storage conditions, for example 'keep refrigerated at 2–6 °C'.
- Name or business name and address of the food business operator under whose name the product is sold (Article 8).
- Nutrition declaration: energy, fat, saturates, carbohydrate, sugars, protein and salt.
Emphasis and font size
Emphasise allergens inside the ingredients list. The Commission notice says allergens should not be repeated voluntarily elsewhere (for example in a separate 'Contains: milk, eggs' line); a 'contains' statement is used only when there is no ingredients list.
Mandatory information must be easily visible and clearly legible. The x-height of the characters must be at least 1.2 mm, or 0.9 mm on packaging whose largest surface is under 80 cm² (Article 13).
Nutrition declaration: the small-quantity exemption
Annex V, point 19, exempts from the nutrition declaration food, including handcrafted food, directly supplied by the manufacturer in small quantities of products to the final consumer or to local retail establishments directly supplying the final consumer. The regulation itself does not define 'small quantities' with a number, so check how your authority applies it.
'May contain traces': when it is allowed and when it does not help
A 'may contain' statement is voluntary, must not mislead and should be based on a real risk assessment; it never replaces good hygiene practice.
EU law does not set the wording or thresholds for traces of allergens. Voluntary information under Article 36 must not be ambiguous or confusing, must not mislead the consumer and, where appropriate, must be based on relevant scientific data.
A statement is not an excuse for poor practice. If you bake with walnuts and almonds in the same kitchen, the risk is real and a warning makes sense. If you add 'may contain everything' to every product, an allergic customer cannot judge it and you lose their trust.
- Add the statement only after you have assessed the risk (what you bake on the same bench, with which equipment, how you clean).
- Name the specific allergen, for example 'may contain traces of nuts'.
- A statement does not replace declaring an ingredient: an allergen that is in the recipe always goes in the ingredients.
- Write down your assessment and your controls; an inspector may ask for them.
Cross-contact in a small kitchen
In a small kitchen, organise the work so that allergens are separated in time and space, clean after every batch and label every container.
Cross-contact means an allergen unintentionally gets into a product that does not contain it, through hands, cloths, containers, tools, flour dust or oil. Home kitchens have no separate production lines, so rely on routine:
- Order of work: bake allergen-free products first, then those with nuts, sesame or peanuts.
- Separate equipment: colour-coded boards, spoons and moulds for allergens; wash any item that touched an allergen thoroughly with hot water and detergent before reuse.
- Flour in the air: wheat flour travels, so sift it away from allergen-free work, wipe surfaces and cover finished products.
- Ingredients: keep labelled containers with the name and date; never mix bags or top up between packs.
- Hands and cloths: wash hands after handling an allergen and change apron and cloths.
- Records: for each cake note the ingredients and bought-in products used, and build the allergen card from that list.
Selling online and baking to order
For distance sales the allergen information must be available before the purchase is concluded, on the website, in the offer or in another clearly identified way.
For prepacked food, Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires most mandatory information to be available before the purchase is concluded (the minimum durability date is the exception) and all mandatory particulars at the moment of delivery. For non-prepacked products the national rule applies. In Slovenia, for example, the rulebook requires the information, allergens included, to appear on the accompanying distance-selling document or in another clearly specified way, at no extra cost to the consumer, before the sale.
In practice: write allergens next to each product in your webshop or in the quotation you send by e-mail. A phone call with no written record is not enough where writing is required.
Checklist
- List every ingredient of each product, including bought-in components, in descending order of weight.
- Read the label of each ingredient and copy allergens by name (for example 'wheat', 'hazelnuts', not only 'gluten' or 'nuts').
- Look up the national rule for non-prepacked food and prepare the form it requires, preferably a written card at the point of sale.
- For prepacked products: name, ingredients, net quantity, date, storage, address and nutrition declaration or a justified exemption.
- Emphasise allergens in the ingredients list with bold type or another style; x-height at least 1.2 mm.
- For online sales and orders, give the allergens in writing before the purchase.
- Add 'may contain' only after a real risk assessment and name the specific allergen.
- Update your labels whenever you change a recipe or supplier, and keep ingredient records.
- Separate allergen work in time and space and clean and label your equipment to reduce cross-contact.
Checklist as a PDF
We e-mail it to you so you can print or keep it.
Glossary
- Allergen
- A substance that can trigger an allergic reaction; Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 lists 14.
- Prepacked food
- A single item presented as such to the consumer, wrapped and closed before the customer sees it.
- Non-prepacked food
- Food offered loose or packed at the point of sale at the customer's request, such as a cake made to order.
- Cross-contact
- Unintentional transfer of an allergen into a product whose recipe does not contain it.
- x-height
- The height of a lower-case 'x' in a typeface, used as the measure of minimum size for mandatory label text.
Official sources
- EUR-Lex – Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (consolidated)
- EUR-Lex – Commission Notice on information on substances or products causing allergies or intolerances (2017/C 428/01)
- European Commission – Food information to consumers: legislation
- EUR-Lex – Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 on gluten
- Germany – LMIDV § 4 (non-prepacked food)
- France – Décret n° 2015-447 on allergens and non-prepacked food (Légifrance)
- Slovenia – Pravilnik o spremembah pravilnika o splošnem označevanju živil, ki niso predpakirana (OJ RS 8/2017)
This guide is general information, not legal advice; rules change and national requirements differ, so confirm your situation with your national food authority. Last checked on 10 November 2026.
