Traveling in Europe with Food Allergies: The 14 Allergens and How to Use Them

Europe has one big advantage for travelers with food allergies: a single rule. Since December 2014, every restaurant, café and takeaway in the European Union has had to tell customers which of 14 allergens are in the food they sell. The UK kept the same rule after Brexit. You will not always see the information on the menu, but you are entitled to ask for it, and staff are used to the question.

The 14 allergens

How it differs from the US top 9

The US list (milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, sesame) does not include celery, mustard, lupin, molluscs or sulphites, and covers gluten only through wheat. If you react to one of those five, Europe actually makes life easier. If you react to something on neither list (coconut, kiwi, pine nuts, buckwheat, corn), restaurants have no obligation to tell you, so ask explicitly.

Two European allergens that surprise Americans:

• Lupin is a legume. Lupin flour turns up in some bread, pastry and gluten-free products in France, Italy and Belgium, and people with peanut allergy can react to it.
• Celery includes celeriac and celery salt, used in stocks, soups and spice mixes all over Central Europe.

How to ask

The list tells you what is in the recipe. It does not tell you whether the kitchen will keep your food away from other dishes. For that you still need to explain the allergy, which is where a card in the local language helps. See our phrase guides for French, Italian, Spanish and Greek.

Epinephrine in Europe

• Bring your own, enough for the trip, in hand luggage with the pharmacy label or a prescription copy.
• Brand names change across borders. EpiPen is sold as Fastjekt in Italy and Altellus in Spain; other countries use Jext or Anapen. Any of them works the same way, but a pharmacist may not recognise the name on your box. Say adrenaline auto-injector or the local word for adrenaline.
• The emergency number is 112 in every EU country and works in the UK alongside 999.

Prepacked food in the UK

Since October 2021, food made and packed on the same premises in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (sandwiches in a café fridge, for example) has to carry a full ingredient list with allergens emphasised. The rule is known as Natasha’s Law, after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after eating a baguette containing sesame that was not labelled.

Common questions

Do European restaurants have to tell me about allergens?

Yes. EU Regulation 1169/2011 requires food businesses, including restaurants, to provide information on the 14 allergens in the food they serve. It can be written or verbal, but if it is verbal, the business must tell you how to get it.

Is sesame an allergen in Europe?

Yes, sesame has been one of the 14 regulated allergens since the rules began. In the US it was added to the major allergens list in 2023.

Which European country is easiest with food allergies?

It depends on the allergy. Italy is very good for coeliacs; the UK and Ireland have the most allergy-aware restaurant culture; France and Belgium use more mustard and lupin; Southern Europe uses more nuts in sweets. The 14-allergen rule applies everywhere, so the question to ask is the same in each country.