Digital Menus
Allergens, Nutrition and Dietary Labels on a Digital Menu
Show allergens as part of each dish, not as a footnote at the bottom of the menu. Record which of the major allergens every dish contains, show them next to the dish, let guests filter out what they cannot eat, and always say that cross-contamination is possible and that staff can answer questions. Nutrition values and labels such as vegan or halal work the same way: they are the restaurant's own declaration, and the restaurant is responsible for them, whatever software displays them.
Why allergen information belongs in the menu data, not a footnote
A line at the bottom of a printed menu that says "ask staff about allergens" puts all the work on a guest who may be shy, rushed or reading in a second language. When each dish carries its own allergen list, the information travels with the dish: into every language of the menu, into search and filters, and onto the screen of the person who needs it.
- Record allergens per dish, from the recipe, not from memory.
- Update the dish the day a recipe or a supplier changes, not at the next reprint.
- Use the same fixed allergen names everywhere, so "nuts" never means one thing on one dish and another on the next.
- Keep a member of staff who can answer questions on every shift. A list on a screen supports that conversation; it does not replace it.
What the rules ask for
The rules depend on where you operate. This is a summary to help you ask the right questions, not legal advice; check the official text for your country or state.
| Where | What applies to restaurant food | Source |
|---|---|---|
| European Union | Under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, allergen information is mandatory even for food sold without packaging, such as restaurant dishes. Annex II lists 14 groups: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts (tree nuts), celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupin and molluscs. Member states may set how it must be given. | EUR-Lex |
| United Kingdom | Food businesses must give allergen information for every non-prepacked item that contains any of the same 14 allergens. It can be written, or given by staff with a clearly visible notice that tells guests how to get it. | UK Food Standards Agency |
| United States, allergens | The FDA recognizes nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame (the ninth since January 1, 2023). The federal allergen labeling law covers packaged, labeled food; most unpackaged restaurant food, and food wrapped after the guest orders, is outside it. State and local rules may ask more. | FDA |
| United States, calories | Restaurants that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations, under the same name and with substantially the same menu, must show calories for standard items on menus and menu boards, and give written nutrition information on request. | FDA |
Two practical points follow. A single-location restaurant in the US may have no federal duty to post calories, but many guests still look for them. And because the EU and UK lists differ from the US list, a menu that serves tourists is easier to keep right when every dish records the full set of allergens your recipes contain.
Nutrition values: measured, calculated or estimated
Nutrition values can come from three places, and guests deserve to know which one they are reading.
- Measured: a laboratory analyzed the dish. Accurate, and costly for a menu that changes.
- Calculated: values worked out from the recipe and the ingredients' own nutrition data. Practical for most menus, as long as the kitchen follows the recipe.
- Estimated: a best guess from a description, for example one drafted by an AI tool. Useful as a starting point; not a fact until someone checks it against the recipe.
Whichever method you use, say on the menu whether values are per 100 g or per portion, and update them when the recipe changes. If values were estimated, say so.
Dietary and religious labels: who is responsible
Labels such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or halal are promises the restaurant makes to the guest. A menu tool can display them; it cannot make them true. Before you add one, be sure you can stand behind it in the kitchen, not only on the recipe card.
- Gluten-free: the UK guidance treats a claim that a dish contains no gluten as a guarantee and advises against it unless you can control cross-contamination. If you cannot, describe the dish as made without gluten-containing ingredients and say the kitchen handles gluten.
- Vegan: the UK guidance says vegan dishes may still carry low-level traces of animal-based allergens such as milk or egg, and guests should be told.
- Halal: only the restaurant, and any certifying body it works with, can declare this. Software should never add the label on its own.
Let guests filter, and always show the cross-contamination warning
On a phone, a guest with an allergy should not have to open every dish. A filter that hides dishes containing the allergens they choose turns a long menu into the short list they can consider. Pair it with two things that must never be filtered away: a plain warning that cross-contamination is possible, and an invitation to ask staff.
A filter is only as good as the data behind it. A dish with no allergens recorded is not a dish without allergens; it is a dish nobody has checked yet.
When a guest reports a reaction
Decide in advance what happens if a guest tells you they reacted to a dish. Write down who on the team handles it, check the recipe and the batch that was served, correct the menu the same day if the information was wrong, and reply to the guest. If someone is having a serious reaction, the first call is to emergency services, not to the kitchen.
Allergens and labels with Thmenu
In Thmenu, the restaurant records each dish's allergens from a fixed list of the 14 EU allergen groups, along with ingredients, serving size and nutrition values per 100 g or per portion. An AI assistant can draft these fields from the dish name; they land in the product form as suggestions for you to edit, and AI-suggested allergens cannot be saved until you tick a box confirming you have checked them. AI suggestions can be wrong, so check every one against the recipe before you save. Dishes saved with AI help tell guests the values were suggested with AI assistance and saved by the venue, which is responsible for their accuracy.
On the guest menu, each dish's allergen details carry the note "Allergen information is based on the venue’s declaration. Cross-contamination is possible." Guests can exclude allergens to hide dishes that contain them, and filter by the vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free tags you set; a dish you tag gluten-free that also lists gluten as an allergen is left out of that filter. From the receipt page, a guest can report a reaction. Every report notifies your staff and appears in your panel, and a report marked severe is also emailed to the owner. Settings let you choose whether allergens, calories and a halal badge appear.
The halal badge is your declaration, never Thmenu's. It is off until you switch it on. Once it is on, a dish shows the badge only when the AI that generated or imported your menu marked it as containing neither pork nor alcohol, and a dish it marked as containing either shows "Contains pork" or "Contains alcohol" instead. That AI reading can be wrong, for example by missing gelatin or a sauce made with wine, and the product form does not show it, so check every dish yourself before you switch the badge on. Dishes you add by hand have no such reading and show no badge. The menu assistant is also told never to call a dish allergen-free or halal unless your menu data says so. Thmenu does not certify, verify or guarantee allergen, nutrition or halal information: the restaurant remains responsible for it.
See menu management in Thmenu.
For allergen names in every language, read how to run a multilingual restaurant menu.
Starting from scratch? Read how to create a digital menu.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers — Article 44 (non-prepacked food) and Annex II (substances or products causing allergies or intolerances) (accessed 31 October 2026)
- UK Food Standards Agency — Allergen guidance for food businesses (GOV.UK) (accessed 31 October 2026)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Food Allergies (accessed 31 October 2026)
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration — Menu Labeling Requirements (accessed 31 October 2026)