Originally published: February 2020

Last reviewed: August 2023

FDF Guidance on
‘Allergen’-Free & Vegan Claims

“ Foreword
The FSA warmly welcomes the FDF’s work to improve the clarity of allergen information provided
to consumers. Getting this right is essential to ensure that food is safe for people living with food
allergy or intolerances. This new guidance makes clear the requirements for free-from claims
for egg and milk, and it also contains important clarifications about vegan labelling, which will
help prevent shortcuts and other claims inadvertently leading people with food hypersensitivity “
to make the wrong food choices. It is very important that industry continues to make sure food
hypersensitive consumers are informed and protected.
Heather Hancock, Chairman of the Food Standards Agency (FSA)

Consumers should not rely on ‘Allergen’-free and vegan are separate claims. Each
communicates different information and are aimed at
a ‘vegan’ logo if they have milk, different consumer groups. Only ‘allergen’-free claims
fish, crustacean, mollusc and/or can be used as food safety information by consumers.

egg food allergies Depending on a product’s intended consumer(s) (e.g.

‘vegans’; ‘milk allergic’; ‘egg allergic’; or multiples of
these), its marketing and the claims on the label, the
food’s composition, manufacturing practices, and
A food product labelled as ‘suitable for vegans’ may controls in place need to be appropriate for them.
not be appropriate for certain allergic consumers due
to unintentional cross-contact with allergenic ingredients
of animal origin.
There is a clear risk to allergic consumers who treat
‘vegan’ claims and allergen absence claims (e.g. If it doesn’t say ‘allergen’-free,
milk-free) as equivalent, and this has potential serious do not assume it is!
health implications. It is therefore important that allergic
consumers do not automatically assume that products
labelled as ‘vegan’ are suitable for them and are the
same as those with an allergen absence claim (e.g. Furthermore, it is not always fully understood that the
fish-free). term ‘dairy’ refers only to milk and milk-based products.
A product labelled as ’dairy-free’ may still include
egg ingredients, making it unsuitable for egg-allergic
consumers, as well as vegans. It is clearer for the
consumer to see the specific allergen term (i.e. milk-free).
A generic ‘allergen-free’ claim that doesn’t specify the
VEGAN allergenic ingredient should be considered a misleading
MILK statement.
Further supporting information is available from the
Food Standards Agency website.

Food and Drink Federation | 6th Floor | 10 Bloomsbury Way | London WC1A 2SL | www.fdf.org.uk
Registered office as above. Registered in London with limited liability. Certificate of Incorporation no. 210572. VAT number: 761253541. The Food and Drink
Federation seeks to ensure that information and guidance it provides are correct but accepts no liability in respect thereof. Such information and guidance are not Page 1 of 2
substitutes for specific legal or other professional advice.
 Originally published: February 2020
Last reviewed: August 2023

‘Allergen’-Free/Free-From = a food allergen absence claim (safety)

Food allergic consumers, such as those allergic to milk and/or egg, need to be able to reliably
avoid the allergen that affects them for their own safety.
At present, there is no legal definition of what constitutes ’Allergen’-Free / Free-From (except for
gluten-free) and making such claims is not mandated in legislation. These claims are therefore
MILK used on a voluntary basis, however, are regulated in accordance with General Food Law requiring
the provision of safe food. A ‘Free-From’ allergen claim is an absolute claim and must ensure
the absence* of the allergen and should only be used following a rigorous risk assessment of
the ingredients, process and environment of the product’s whole supply chain. Finished product
testing should be performed to verify the efficacy of these controls.
*In practice, for ‘Free-From’ allergen claims, ‘absence’ is the scientific demonstration on an
on-going basis that the specified allergen in the food is at a level that ensures safety, taking
intoaccount the most sensitive limit for a recognised and clinically relevant laboratory test method.
The FDF/BRC Guidance on “Free-From” Allergen Claims (Nov 2015) provides further detail.

Manufacturers’ labels must not say or suggest

‘Allergen’-Free unless the food is assured to be
absent of the specified allergen

Vegan = a dietary suitability claim (composition)

Vegan consumers choose not to consume products that intentionally use ingredients of
animal origin (e.g. meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, milk, eggs and honey). This can be for
varied reasons, such as ethical, environmental, and/or nutritional. Food labelled as ‘vegan’
should not be made from or with the aid of animals or animal products. In certain cases, due
VEGAN to manufacturing processes, a vegan product may be unsuitable for allergic consumers who
react to certain animal ingredients (e.g. milk) and a suitable precautionary allergen labelling
MILK
statement should therefore be used (i.e. ‘may contain milk’). Precautionary allergen labelling
is voluntary and should only be used after a thorough risk assessment and where the risk of
unintentional allergen presence is real and cannot be removed. There is no legal definition of the
term ‘vegan’ in UK or EU law, however General Food Law requires food to be safe and for its
labelling or other presentation to not mislead consumers. General food labelling falls under the
remit of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and they still intend to
develop updated guidance on vegan and vegetarian labelling, however, to date limited progress
has been made. Under the EU Food Information to Consumers (FIC) Regulation (which is
also Retained EU Law in Great Britain), the European Commission also intends to adopt
an Implementing Regulation on voluntary food information related to suitability of a food for
vegetarians and for vegans [Article 36(3)].
The 2021 Joint FoodDrinkEurope (FDE), European Vegetarian Union (EVU) and EuroCommerce
statement shares that ‘The potential and unintended presence of non-vegan or non-vegetarian
substances should not be an obstacle to labelling a product as vegan or vegetarian, provided
that such contamination takes place despite a careful production process that complies with
best practices’. The Vegan Society’s vegan trademark can also be applied to foods carrying a
‘may contain’ statement about animal allergens, providing the manufacturer strives to minimise
cross-contamination from animal products as far as is reasonably practicable.

Food and Drink Federation | 6th Floor | 10 Bloomsbury Way | London WC1A 2SL | www.fdf.org.uk
Registered office as above. Registered in London with limited liability. Certificate of Incorporation no. 210572. VAT number: 761253541. The Food and Drink
Federation seeks to ensure that information and guidance it provides are correct but accepts no liability in respect thereof. Such information and guidance are not Page 2 of 2
substitutes for specific legal or other professional advice.