The 9 federal allergens, explained for restaurants.

Milk allergy is among the most common food allergies, particularly in children. On a menu, milk shows up not just as cream, butter, and cheese — it appears in the form of casein and whey (common in processed sauces and baked goods), ghee (clarified butter, used in South Asian and some European preparations), lactose (a milk sugar that can appear even in "non-dairy" products with trace contamination), and caramel (typically made with cream).

Hidden sources that operators often miss: chocolate (most milk chocolate and some dark chocolate contain milk solids), breading mixes (many use dried milk), pasta sauces with cream or butter, and béchamel-based dishes where the sauce name appears but the milk content does not. Alfredo sauce, au gratin preparations, and anything labeled "creamy" warrant disclosure.

Note that milk allergy and lactose intolerance are distinct conditions. Allergen disclosure is for milk allergy (an immune response), not lactose intolerance (a digestive sensitivity). The disclosure obligation applies regardless of the form or quantity of milk present.

Eggs appear throughout a menu in forms that are easy to overlook. The obvious sources are scrambled eggs, omelets, and egg-based dishes. The less obvious sources include fresh pasta (made with egg yolks, unlike dried pasta which typically uses semolina and water), baked goods where eggs act as a binder or leavening agent, hollandaise and béarnaise sauces, and mayonnaise — which shows up in dressings, aioli, tartar sauce, and as a spread or binder in many preparations.

Caesar dressing traditionally contains raw egg yolk in the emulsification. Many house-made Caesar preparations carry an undisclosed egg component. Frittatas, quiches, and any item described as "baked" or "custard-based" should be reviewed. Egg wash is also common on pastry items, croissants, and anything described as having a glazed or shiny finish.

Egg white (albumin) is used as a fining agent in some wines and as a clarifying agent in consommé. These traces are typically below a meaningful clinical threshold but remain technically present.

The fish allergen category covers all species of finfish. Unlike shellfish, which is split into crustacean and mollusk categories, all finfish fall under a single federal disclosure requirement — and where a specific species is present, FALCPA requires that the species be named (e.g., "salmon," not just "fish").

The hidden-fish problem on restaurant menus is substantial. Fish sauce is used as a seasoning in many Southeast Asian dishes — pad thai, larb, som tam, and various Thai and Vietnamese preparations — without being obvious from the dish name. Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, which means any dish using Worcestershire (steak sauce bases, Bloody Mary, some burger sauces) carries a fish allergen. Anchovy paste appears in Caesar dressing and some puttanesca preparations.

Japanese dashi stock, used in miso soup, ramen broth, and many Japanese preparations, is typically made with bonito flakes (dried skipjack tuna). Any item described as having a dashi base carries a fish allergen. Korean kimchi sometimes contains fish sauce or fermented fish paste as well.

The federal major allergen category covers crustacean shellfish: shrimp, crab, lobster, and crayfish. This is a distinct category from fish and from mollusks (oysters, clams, scallops, mussels). Mollusks are not a federal major allergen under FALCPA, though California and some other states have additional disclosure requirements and mollusks remain a real clinical allergy risk that operators should address.

Crustacean shellfish appear in obvious forms — shrimp dishes, crab cakes, lobster bisque. They appear less obviously in stock and broth (shellfish stock is common in bisques, risottos, and sauces), in compound butters (shrimp butter, lobster butter), and in dishes described generically as "seafood" without listing the specific species present.

Shrimp paste is used as a flavor base in some Southeast Asian and Caribbean preparations and may not be named explicitly in a menu description. Dishes described as "laksa," "sambal," "miang kham," or certain Cajun/Creole preparations should be reviewed for shrimp paste content.

Tree nuts include almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and pine nuts. Each species must be named individually when disclosed under FALCPA — "tree nuts" alone is not a complete disclosure. Coconut is classified as a tree nut by the FDA, though reactions to coconut are less common than reactions to the nut species listed above.

Hidden tree nut sources are numerous. Pesto traditionally contains pine nuts or, in some recipes, walnuts — neither of which may be apparent from the dish name. Baklava and many Middle Eastern pastries contain walnuts, pistachios, or hazelnuts. Mole sauce (Mexican/Tex-Mex) often includes ground almonds or peanuts. Praline and gianduja (hazelnut chocolate) appear in desserts. Some nut-based "cheeses" used in vegan preparations are almond- or cashew-based.

Tree nut oils (almond oil, walnut oil, hazelnut oil) can carry residual allergen and should be disclosed. Nut-based milks (almond milk, cashew milk, oat-and-nut blends) used as substitutions in coffee drinks or sauces carry tree nut allergen.

Peanuts are a legume, not a tree nut, and the two allergens are clinically distinct — a person with a peanut allergy may or may not also react to tree nuts. The federal disclosure treats them as separate major allergen categories, and restaurant menus should do the same.

Peanuts appear prominently in Southeast Asian cuisine (satay sauce, pad thai, gado gado, kung pao chicken), West African cuisine (peanut stew, groundnut soup), and American preparations (peanut butter, some barbecue sauces). Satay sauce and peanut-based dipping sauces may be served with items not typically associated with peanuts.

Ground peanuts are used as a thickener and base in mole sauce (particularly mole negro). Some "nut-free" preparations inadvertently substitute peanuts for tree nuts — the allergen substitution does not remove the disclosure obligation. Peanut oil in its refined form is generally considered safe for most peanut-allergic individuals, but cold-pressed or expeller-pressed peanut oil retains allergen protein and should be disclosed.

Wheat is among the most pervasive allergens in a commercial kitchen. It appears in flour (all-purpose, bread, cake), semolina, durum (pasta), and bulgur. Wheat-containing ingredients appear in breaded and fried items (breading, panko, batter), pasta, bread, croutons, pizza dough, flatbreads, tortillas (flour), brioche buns, and any item described as "crusted" or "coated."

Less obvious wheat sources: most soy sauce is made from wheat and soybeans, which means any dish using standard soy sauce carries both wheat and soy allergens. Beer contains wheat (or barley — a different grain, but often relevant to gluten-sensitive diners). Farro, spelt, kamut, and triticale are all wheat varieties and carry the same disclosure requirement. Seitan is concentrated wheat gluten and should always be disclosed.

Important distinction: wheat-free is not the same as gluten-free. Gluten appears in wheat, barley, and rye. A wheat-free preparation may still contain barley malt (common in cereals, some sauces, and many beers). The allergen disclosure obligation is for wheat specifically. Gluten-free claims are separate and carry their own regulatory requirements under FDA guidelines.

Soy is one of the most widely distributed food ingredients in commercial food service. It appears as soy sauce, tamari, tofu, miso, edamame, tempeh, and soy lecithin. Soy lecithin is used as an emulsifier in chocolate, dressings, some baked goods, and many processed sauces — it appears far more widely than operators typically realize.

As noted under wheat, most standard soy sauce contains both soy and wheat. Tamari is traditionally wheat-free but not soy-free. Many commercial stir-fry sauces, teriyaki sauces, oyster sauces, and hoisin sauces contain soy. Edamame (served as an appetizer) is a soybean and carries a soy allergen disclosure requirement.

Soy is used in many "vegan" meat substitutes, vegan cheeses, and plant-based protein items. Vegetable oil labeled generically may be soybean oil. Soy milk and soy-based creamers used in coffee service should be disclosed. The phrase "vegetable oil" on a menu description does not adequately disclose soy when soy oil is the specific oil used.

Sesame became the ninth FDA major allergen effective January 1, 2023 under the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (FASTER) Act of 2021. It is the most recently added allergen and, as a result, the one most commonly missed or omitted from restaurant disclosures — including by operators who believe their menu is otherwise FALCPA-compliant.

Sesame appears as sesame seeds (on burger buns, bagels, sushi rolls, Middle Eastern breads), tahini (the base of hummus, baba ganoush, halva, and many dressings), and sesame oil (used extensively in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Middle Eastern cooking as a finishing oil). Gomashio (sesame salt) is used in Japanese cuisine. Za'atar spice blend typically contains sesame. Everything bagel seasoning — increasingly popular on various menu items — is a direct source of sesame.

The FDA estimates approximately 1.6 million Americans have sesame allergy. Given the recency of the regulatory change, operators who last audited their menus before 2023 should treat sesame as a priority gap review. MenuRegistry's audit checks for sesame in every dish as part of the standard 9-allergen sweep.

Civil liability for allergen mislabeling arises from multiple sources. At the federal level, FALCPA creates an enforcement mechanism through the FDA. At the state level, California's ADDE Act creates a private right of action — meaning individual plaintiffs can sue without waiting for regulatory enforcement. California's consumer protection statutes allow per-violation penalties that scale with transaction volume, which is a material exposure for any operator running significant daily cover counts.

Allergen mislabeling litigation has increased substantially over the past two years, driven in part by plaintiff's bar awareness of the FASTER Act's sesame addition and a series of high-profile settlements. The average cost to defend an allergen-mislabeling claim — before any settlement or judgment — has risen alongside the broader trend in food-service litigation.

The practical defense against a disclosure-based claim is documentation: a contemporaneous, dated record showing what your menu disclosed at the time the transaction occurred. An audit report with a tamper-evident hash and timestamp is that documentation. See how the audit process works.

MenuRegistry's audit engine checks every dish on your menu against all nine major allergen categories simultaneously. For each dish, it reads the item name and description, infers likely ingredients from the text, and returns a per-allergen determination (present, absent, or ambiguous) with a confidence level (HIGH, MEDIUM, or LOW).

Items where the description does not contain enough information to make a confident determination are flagged for review rather than silently marked as safe. That conservative approach means fewer false negatives — the audit is more likely to over-flag than to miss a real allergen, which is the right tradeoff in a compliance context.

The audit covers all nine allergens including sesame, which is the one most frequently absent from older compliance programs. If your last menu review predates January 2023, treat sesame as a priority gap. See how the audit process works for a complete walkthrough.