The 14 allergens: list and rules for Belgian restaurants

The official list of 14 allergens, the Royal Decree of 17 July 2014 on non-prepacked food, verbal or written information, and a printable table.

Jul 16, 2026 4 min read

Published on 16/07/2026 · By Federica García, Eazyclick. Official sources: FPS Public Health, FASFC and European Regulation (EU) no. 1169/2011.

A restaurant, caterer, bakery or snack bar must be able to tell every customer which of the 14 regulated allergens are present in the food it serves. Here is the official list, what Belgian law says about non-prepacked food, and how to display the information on your menu. A printable table of the 14 allergens (PDF) is available below.

Which 14 allergens must be declared?

The 14 allergens that must be declared are set out in Annex II of European Regulation no. 1169/2011 on food information to consumers: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soya, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulphites, lupin and molluscs. This is a fixed list: it applies unchanged in every EU country.

No.	Allergen	What it covers	Where it often hides
1	Cereals containing gluten	Wheat (including spelt and kamut), rye, barley, oats	Bread, pasta, breadcrumbs, flour-thickened sauces, beer
2	Crustaceans	Prawns, crab, lobster, langoustines	Shrimp croquettes, bisques, sauce stocks
3	Eggs	Eggs from all poultry	Mayonnaise, pastries, fresh pasta, breadcrumb coatings
4	Fish	All fish	Anchovy-based sauces, fish stocks, surimi
5	Peanuts	Groundnuts	Satay sauce, groundnut oil, desserts
6	Soya	Beans, tofu, soy sauce	Marinades, Asian sauces, vegetarian products
7	Milk	Milk from all animals, including lactose	Butter, cream, cheeses, mashed potato, desserts
8	Nuts	Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, macadamias, pistachios	Pralines, pestos, frangipane, granola
9	Celery	Stalks, celeriac, seeds	Broths, soups, stocks, celery salt
10	Mustard	Seeds, powder, preparations	Dressings, sauces, marinades, Belgian beer stew
11	Sesame seeds	Seeds, oil, tahini	Breads, hummus, Asian sauces
12	Sulphur dioxide and sulphites	Above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l	Wine, vinegar, dried fruit, some cured meats
13	Lupin	Lupin seeds and flour	Some flours, breads and pastries
14	Molluscs	Mussels, oysters, squid, snails	Mussels and chips, seafood sauces, paella

Source: food allergen list, FPS Public Health and Regulation (EU) no. 1169/2011, Annex II. The “Where it often hides” column gives common examples: it does not replace checking your own recipes and product specification sheets.

What does Belgian law require of a restaurant?

For non-prepacked food served in restaurants, by caterers, in bakeries or snack bars, the Royal Decree of 17 July 2014 requires customers to be informed of the presence of the 14 allergens. Only allergen information is compulsory. Customers must have access to accurate, complete information at all times.

Sources: Royal Decree of 17 July 2014, FPS Public Health and “Allergen declarations”. FASFC, Belgium's Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain, also publishes an allergen FAQ.

Verbal or written: which should you choose?

The information can be provided verbally or in writing. For verbal information, a staff member must always be present to inform customers. Written information must be clearly visible, or you must clearly indicate where to find it, for example in a folder at the counter. For self-service with no staff available, written information is required.

In practice, written information offers better protection: a temporary staff member unfamiliar with the recipe, a daily special added at lunchtime, and verbal information becomes approximate. It is also what customers with allergies look for before booking: an online menu with allergens included.

The three most common approaches:

Numbers or icons for each dish, with a key to the 14 allergens at the bottom of the menu.
An allergen table (dishes in rows, allergens in columns), kept up to date and available at the counter.
An online menu showing allergens for each dish, accessible through a QR code on the table.

Whatever the format, two rules apply: every dish on the menu, including the daily special, must be covered; and the information must be updated whenever a recipe or supplier changes. With the Menus module, you select the 14 allergens dish by dish, and your online menu, table QR code and printed PDF show the same information.

What about cross-contamination?

There is no specific legal rule on cross-contamination, but FASFC expects every effort to be made to avoid it, including for non-prepacked food. Precautionary wording such as “may contain” should not be used automatically: it must be based on a risk assessment specific to your kitchen.

Source: “Allergens and cross-contamination” FAQ, FASFC. In the kitchen, this means dedicated utensils and work surfaces, or cleaning them between preparations, and a team that knows how to respond when a customer reports an allergy.

Download the 14 allergens table (PDF)

Download the 14 allergens table: an A4 page with the official list and a blank grid to complete dish by dish, to keep at the counter or in the kitchen.

The Menus module publishes your menu on your website, with the 14 allergens selected for each dish, a table QR code and a printable PDF version. The tool structures the information; the business, which knows its recipes, remains responsible for the accuracy of declared allergens. See also everything Eazyclick does for hospitality and our guide to the SCE 2.0 registered cash register system.