Allergens in bakeries: how to display the 14 allergens flawlessly
Allergen display formats, common mistakes and best practices in bakery and pastry. The complete guide for clear and honest customer information.
Allergen information requirements
Informing consumers about the composition of food products is a requirement for any food business. In an artisan bakery, there are two main obligations:
- The 14 allergens must be declared for every product, including non-prepackaged products (sold from the display case).
- The sales description: "traditional bread", "butter croissant", etc. must be accurate (no "croissant" if it's made with margarine).
Allergen information must be accessible without having to ask for it: either through direct display in front of each product, or through a clear reference to a document available on the premises.
The 14 allergens: list and bakery examples
| Allergen | Common bakery examples |
|---|---|
| Gluten | Wheat, rye, barley, spelt flour |
| Milk | Butter, cream, powdered milk |
| Eggs | Whole eggs, yolks, whites |
| Tree nuts | Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios |
| Soy | Soy lecithin (chocolate, margarine) |
| Sesame | Sesame seeds (specialty breads) |
| Peanuts | Peanut oil, praline |
| Sulfites | Candied fruit, wine (in certain preparations) |
| Mustard | Sandwiches, quiches, savory preparations |
| Celery | Deli preparations |
| Fish | Savory preparations |
| Crustaceans | Deli preparations |
| Lupin | Lupin flour (additive) |
| Mollusks | Deli preparations |
Good to know
The risk of cross-contamination must also be declared. If your bakehouse uses hazelnuts in certain recipes, all of your products may contain traces of tree nuts.
How to display allergens in the case
Three formats are accepted:
- Individual label in front of each product, with the allergens in bold or underlined. This is the clearest format for the customer.
- Summary table posted in the display case: a table with products as rows and the 14 allergens as columns.
- Available binder with a visible notice ("Ask for our allergen document"). Looked upon less favorably by inspectors but legal.
The recommended format in 2026: the summary table, updated whenever the product range changes.
The 5 most common mistakes
- Forgetting the soy lecithin present in couverture chocolate.
- Not declaring traces when the same mixer is used for walnut bread and white bread.
- Out-of-date display after a change of supplier (a new flour containing soy, for example).
- Incorrect sales descriptions: "pure butter croissant" when part of the fat is vegetable-based.
- Hidden information: the binder is under the counter and no one offers it spontaneously.
Automating allergen display
The challenge isn't creating the display once — it's keeping it up to date. Every time you change an ingredient or a supplier, the allergen list can change.
The solution: software that links each recipe to its ingredients and displays the allergens automatically. When you change an ingredient, the display updates itself.
Good to know
LogiBake automatically generates the allergen table from your recipes. Change an ingredient, and the allergens are recalculated instantly.
Change an ingredient in LogiBake: the allergens recalculate and the compliant label updates — composition, use-by date, nutrition facts.
Learn more about labelingRelated printable cards
Document provided for guidance only. Final compliance is the responsibility of each establishment and must be verified with the relevant health authorities.
LogiBake does not replace your expertise.
It gives you the tools to make the most of it.