Common allergen labelling mistakes (and how to avoid them)

Getting a label wrong isn't just a compliance risk — it can genuinely put someone at risk. Here are the mistakes home bakers make most often, and how to steer clear of each.

1. Missing an allergen hidden inside another ingredient

The classic one: a recipe says "chocolate," but the chocolate contains soya lecithin and milk. If you only list "chocolate," you've missed two allergens. The fix: always work from the full ingredients list on each packet, not from the everyday name of the ingredient.

2. Not emphasising the allergens

Listing "wheat flour" in the same plain text as everything else isn't enough — the allergen has to be emphasised (bold is standard) every time it appears. A list where allergens don't stand out doesn't meet the requirement.

3. Wrong ingredient order

Ingredients must be listed in descending order by weight. Listing them in the order you happened to add them, or alphabetically, isn't compliant. Whatever you used most of comes first.

4. Copying percentages off a packet

If a butter tub says "Butter (52%)," that percentage describes that product — it's meaningless and misleading once butter is one ingredient in your cake. Drop the percentages when you transfer an ingredient onto your own label.

5. Using "may contain" as a catch-all

Adding "may contain nuts" to everything "just in case" isn't good practice, and it doesn't replace a proper ingredients list. Precautionary labelling should reflect a genuine cross-contamination risk in your kitchen, not blanket cover-your-back text.

6. Letting labels go stale

Suppliers reformulate. The flour or margarine you've used for a year can quietly change its recipe. Re-check your ingredient labels periodically, especially if you switch brands or a supplier changes packaging.

7. Relying on memory

"I know what's in my Victoria sponge" is how allergens get missed. The safest habit is to build every label from the actual packets in front of you.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and food law can change. For current official guidance see the Food Standards Agency (food.gov.uk), including its PPDS allergen labelling guidance, or contact your local council's environmental health team.