Does PEAL apply to food I serve in my café?

PEAL sets how allergens are named on labels. For food you serve unpackaged, the Food Standards Code requires the same allergen information to be displayed or given on request. Using the PEAL names keeps what your staff and menu say consistent with what customers see on packaging.

Why name each tree nut separately?

People are often allergic to some tree nuts and not others. Since PEAL, "tree nuts" is no longer enough: the label names almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio or walnut.

Are sulphites part of PEAL?

Added sulphites at 10 mg/kg or more must still be declared under the Food Standards Code, but they are declared in the ingredient list rather than in the bold allergen summary statement.

Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) for cafés and restaurants

The required names

Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) is part of Standard 1.2.3 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Its transition period ended on 25 February 2024, so packaged food now has to use these names in bold in the ingredient list and in a "Contains" summary statement.

Required name	Where it shows up on a menu
Wheat	Bread, batter, pasta, flour-thickened sauces
Gluten	Declared with the cereal it comes from: barley, oats, rye or wheat
Fish	Fish sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Caesar dressing
Crustacea	Prawns, crab, lobster, crayfish, Moreton Bay bugs
Mollusc	Oysters, mussels, scallops, squid, octopus; oyster sauce
Egg	Aioli, mayonnaise, hollandaise, fresh pasta, egg wash
Milk	Butter, cheese, cream, yoghurt, many sauces
Lupin	Lupin flour in some breads and gluten-free products
Peanut	Satay, some curries, peanut oil
Soy	Soy sauce, tofu, miso, edamame
Sesame	Buns, tahini, hummus, sesame oil, dukkah
Almond	Frangipane, marzipan, almond milk
Brazil nut	Mixed nuts, muesli, nut butters
Cashew	Curries, stir-fries, vegan cheese and sauces
Hazelnut	Praline, chocolate-hazelnut spreads, dukkah
Macadamia	Biscuits, desserts, nut crusts
Pecan	Pies, brownies, salads
Pine nut	Pesto, salads
Pistachio	Ice cream, baklava, pastries
Walnut	Cakes, brownies, salads, walnut oil

Added sulphites at 10 mg/kg or more must be declared too, in the ingredient list.

Food you serve unpackaged

Restaurants, cafés, takeaways and caterers mostly sell food that isn't labelled. For that food, the Code requires allergen information to be displayed with the food, or provided to the customer on request. It also applies to food delivered to a customer.

"On request" is the legal minimum. A written chart, kept up to date, is what makes the answer the same whoever the customer asks. Since December 2023, Standard 3.2.2A also requires most food service businesses to have trained food handlers and a certified food safety supervisor.

Gluten and the cereals

PEAL declares gluten alongside the cereal it comes from, for example "wheat" and "gluten", or "barley" and "gluten". A useful chart has a wheat column and a gluten column, so a dish with barley shows gluten without implying wheat.

"May contain"

Precautionary statements are voluntary. Most Australian manufacturers base them on the Allergen Bureau's VITAL program, which only recommends a "may be present" statement where a risk assessment finds one. See the guide to "may contain" warnings.

Putting it in front of customers

Allergens uses the PEAL names, tree nuts included, as the columns of a matrix built from your menu. Customers can filter it and scan it from a QR code, and staff have an A4 print view and PDF. Start from the blank template if you want to see the layout first.