Free downloads
Allergen matrix template: Excel and printable PDF
Four free files, all 14 UK allergens, no sign-up. Or skip the typing: the online builder fills the same chart from your ingredients and prints it.
Checked against the official guidance on 18 September 2026
Excel workbook (.xlsx)
60 blank rows, C / MC drop-down in every allergen cell, contains in red and may contain in yellow, frozen headers, prints A4 landscape. A second sheet holds a filled café example.
Blank chart, A4 landscape (PDF)
15 rows to fill in by hand, legend, review date and signature line.
Filled example: a café (PDF)
Nine dishes, including the hidden ones: Worcestershire sauce in the rarebit, oats in the flat white.
How to fill in an allergen matrix
- One row per dish or drink, exactly as named on the menu, including sides, sauces and the bar.
- Work from the recipe and the supplier labels, not from memory. Bought-in products (stock, sauces, bread, sausages) bring their own allergens: read their allergen box.
- C for contains when the allergen is an ingredient, even in a small amount (a splash of Worcestershire sauce is fish).
- MC for may contain only where your risk assessment found a cross-contact risk you can't control, such as a shared fryer. When “may contain” is justified.
- Date it and sign it. Reprint whenever a recipe, an ingredient or a supplier changes, and keep the old copy.
Checks before you print
- Every column has been considered for every dish, including lupin and molluscs.
- Stock, gravy and soup rows: celery checked on the stock's label.
- Anything with soy sauce, malt vinegar, beer or oats: gluten column.
- Plant milks on the coffee menu: oat is gluten, soya is soya, almond is tree nuts.
- Wine, cider and dried fruit: sulphites.
The FSA's own allergen checklist for food businesses is a good final pass.
Template questions
What order should the allergens be in?
Any order is legal. These templates use the alphabetical order the FSA uses in its guidance (celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphites, tree nuts), which is what most UK kitchens know.
Can I use the FSA's own template instead?
Yes. The FSA publishes a free allergen matrix (PDF and an editable version) with its allergen icons on GOV.UK. Use whichever your team will keep up to date.
Why C and MC rather than ticks?
Because “contains” and “may contain” are different answers for a customer with a severe allergy. A tick can't say which one it is.
Is a spreadsheet enough for an inspection?
What matters is that the information is accurate and that your staff can use it. Date each printed copy and keep the old ones: it shows when the information changed and who checked it.
Official sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II — substances or products causing allergies or intolerances — legislation.gov.uk (version applying in Great Britain).
- Allergen guidance for food businesses — Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK), updated 17 July 2026.
- Download your allergen icons and posters (includes the FSA allergen matrix) — Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK), updated 3 August 2026.
- Allergen checklist for food businesses — Food Standards Agency (GOV.UK), updated 23 July 2026.
- Precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) — GOV.UK — food labelling and packaging.
All sources opened and checked on 18 September 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice.