Allergen matrix template for a restaurant or pub: the 14 columns, a filled-in example and how to keep it accurate

An allergen matrix is a table with one row for each dish and one column for each of the 14 allergens the law names, with a mark wherever a dish contains one. Copy the template below, fill it from ingredient labels and supplier specification sheets, date it and have the chef sign it.

What the law asks for, and what the guidance adds

For food that is not prepacked, which is nearly everything a pub or restaurant serves, information on the 14 allergens must be available to the customer. It can be written, or given verbally with a written notice telling customers to ask. Our Natasha's Law guide sets out that rule and the separate labelling rule for food packed before it is ordered.

The Food Standards Agency's best practice guidance for non-prepacked food goes further. GOV.UK dates it 24 February 2025 and it applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It says food businesses should make allergen information easily available in writing, and that written information supported by a conversation works best. It names three places for it: the main menu, an allergen booklet on a counter, or a matrix displayed on a wall. The guidance is plain about its status: "You are not required by law to follow best practice guidance."

The 14 columns

The list comes from Annex II of the food information regulation. Use its order or the alphabetical one, and keep the same order on every copy.

1. Cereals containing gluten: wheat (including spelt and khorasan wheat), rye, barley, oats
2. Crustaceans
3. Eggs
4. Fish
5. Peanuts
6. Soybeans
7. Milk, including lactose
8. Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts
9. Celery
10. Mustard
11. Sesame seeds
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites, above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre
13. Lupin
14. Molluscs

The template

Put this block above the table on every copy:

Then the matrix. The four rows are examples from an invented recipe book, to show how the cells are filled. Your own dishes will differ, because the answer sits in the brand of batter mix, stock and sauce you buy.

The Food Standards Agency's example matrix puts a tick in each cell. The same guidance says "the specific nut or cereal should be provided", and its own menu example reads "Contains: milk, nuts (almond)". Writing the name in the cell does both jobs in one place.

How to fill it in

1. List every item sold: dishes, sides, sauces, garnishes, bar snacks, children's meals, specials and drinks made on site.
2. Break each dish into its bought-in parts, such as the batter mix, the stock, the dressing and the oil. Read the ingredients list on the pack or the supplier's specification sheet for each part. Do not fill a cell from memory.
3. Mark the cell. In the gluten and nuts columns write the name of the cereal or nut.
4. Use the last column for allergens that are not ingredients but could be present, such as from a shared fryer. The guidance treats this as voluntary information and suggests wording such as "May contain egg".
5. Leave a cell blank only when every part has been read. A blank cell is a statement that the allergen is not an ingredient.
6. Date the sheet, have the chef check it against the recipes, and get a signature.
7. Replace every copy at once: the pass, the bar, the function folder and the website. Destroy the old ones.

When to redo it

The guidance lists what keeps the information accurate. Four of its points belong on the kitchen wall:

• keep a record of recipes so they are made to the same specification each time
• check regularly whether ingredients in products have changed
• keep last-minute substitutions to a minimum, and when one happens check the ingredients and update the allergen information
• ask suppliers to agree to tell you of any allergen changes

The guidance says "regularly" and gives no interval. Our suggestion is a fixed day each month, plus a new version date whenever a recipe, a brand or a supplier changes and before any special goes on the board. A matrix dated eight months ago gives a customer no reason to trust it.

What staff say, and what the menu says

The guidance gives the question for front of house: "does anyone have any allergen requirements?" Ask it when the order is taken, and answer from the sheet.

A line to adapt for the menu and the website:

Allergen information for every dish is available in writing. Please ask for our allergen matrix, and tell us about any allergen requirements before you order. Our kitchen handles all 14 allergens, so we cannot promise that any dish is free from traces.

Online, the guidance says written allergen information should be on the main menu or no more than "one click away". For a private party, ask for allergen requirements with the final numbers, as the terms in our function enquiry reply and quote template do.

Who keeps it

One named person owns the matrix, and the chef signs each version. Overlyft can set up an AI Back-office Clerk that reads supplier specification sheets and delivery notes, updates the dated matrix before a changed product is used, and tells the chef and the floor what changed. The chef and the owner remain responsible for what the sheet says.

This is general information, not legal advice. The Food Standards Agency's guidance is the authority, and your local council enforces it.