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Ordering a takeaway or delivery with a food allergy

Published 24 October 2026

Ordering by phone, on a restaurant website, or through another website is distance selling when you and the business are not together as the sale is completed. The technical guidance for England, Wales and Northern Ireland defines it that way, and its examples include online takeaway aggregators. Article 14 says that for non-prepacked food sold at a distance, the allergen particulars required by Article 44 must be available before the purchase is concluded and at the moment of delivery. The technical guidance says this information must be current and accurate, with no supplementary charge, such as a premium-rate phone line.

The 14 allergens, twice

The duty is the 14 allergens. The consumer advice lists them. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites count at more than ten parts per million. The business guidance says this also applies to additives, processing aids and any other substances present in the finished food. If you avoid a food outside that list, ask. For food that is not prepacked, the technical guidance requires the allergenic ingredients. It does not require a full ingredients list.

For food sold online or by phone, that information must be given twice. Before you pay, it can be written on a website, catalogue or menu, or spoken on the phone. When the food is delivered, it can be written, such as stickers or a menu in the bag, or spoken on the phone. The business guidance advises written information at both stages, and clear labelling so you can see which dishes are suitable. GOV.UK says the delivery driver can also tell you in person. The consumer advice calls a takeaway order distance selling with those two stages. In Scotland, Food Standards Scotland uses the same two stages, and tells you to check the menu, the website or the phone. A business need not make a separate meal. If you doubt the staff understand, do not eat the food.

When another website takes the order

The technical guidance names no company and sets out no app terms. Best practice for non-prepacked food, which does not cover prepacked for direct sale, says that on a third-party website you should be told before you order where the allergen information is. That can be the food business’s own website, or the third-party website where that is possible. If it cannot be kept accurate online, you must still be able to get it easily, including from staff by telephone, and the business should ask if you need it before taking the order. The technical guidance says every food business operator is responsible for the accuracy of the allergen information they provide, and must not supply food they know or presume does not meet the food information rules. That includes manufacturers, suppliers and caterers, for the rules on their own activities.

Phone the kitchen

The examples at the time of the order are a signpost to written information, such as an online menu, or staff telling you on the telephone. A typed note is your message. It is not that answer. If the order is digital, or the person taking it is not cooking, best practice says your requirements should go in writing to the person preparing the food, with confirmation they understood. Call before you pay. How to say it is in how to tell a restaurant about your food allergy.

The consumer advice for England, Wales and Northern Ireland says to check the menu or call ahead, be clear, and give examples of the foods that make you ill. Ask if a suitable meal is offered, or if staff can make one. Ask about cross-contamination from equipment or ingredients, and about a substitution. Ask for a manager if the person does not understand. If you still doubt them, do not eat the food. They must offer allergen information. They need not offer another meal.

• Which of the 14 allergens is in the dish, the sauce, the oil, the garnish, or a processing aid still in the food?
• Has anything been substituted?
• Could shared cooking oil cause cross-contamination? The business guidance gives gluten-free chips in oil used for battered fish. If that cannot be avoided, the business should tell you it cannot provide an allergen-free dish.
• The consumer advice says there is no specific legal requirement to print “may contain”. Food must still be safe.
• The consumer advice says a vegan label means no ingredient of animal origin was used on purpose. Do not treat it as safe for milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans or molluscs.

When the bag arrives

Before you eat, check again. Best practice says written information should let you identify your item. The technical guidance examples include a sticker, such as chicken satay with wheat, soy, fish and peanut, or a menu with the name on each box. GOV.UK says the delivery driver can tell you in person. For a group, ask for each container to be labelled. A change you agreed should be indicated, and you should be told if transit could cause cross-contamination. The person handing it over should confirm the meal. If nothing tells you which box is yours, do not guess. The guides for peanut, sesame, gluten and milk are the checks for that label.

A box packed before the order

Food packed after you order, such as a burger wrapped for that order, is not PPDS. The technical guidance says the non-prepacked rules apply, and its glossary gives food from a takeaway as non-prepacked food. A wrapped burger or boxed chicken placed under a hot lamp before anyone orders it can be PPDS. In the shop, that pack needs the food’s name and a full ingredients list. That is Natasha’s Law and PPDS labelling. Sold only online, by telephone or by mail order, that ingredients list is not required. Article 14 still requires the allergen information before you buy and at delivery.

In England, regulation 5 of the Food Information Regulations 2014 is the rule for food that is not sold at a distance. Allergen particulars may be spoken, with a sign where you choose the food telling you to ask a member of staff. A phone call or a website order uses the two-stage rule instead. The technical guidance says drive-through and in-store screens are not distance selling, because you and the supplier are physically present together.

If it goes wrong

If you think someone is having anaphylaxis, follow the NHS and that person’s own allergy action plan. Use an adrenaline auto-injector if they have one, as they were shown, even if the symptoms are mild. Call 999 and say you think it is an anaphylactic reaction. Do not stand or walk. The same steps are in what to do in an allergic reaction. If anything here differs from the NHS page, follow the NHS page and the plan.

Then tell the business. The consumer advice says to do that first after an allergic, intolerance or coeliac reaction, or a near miss. If you want further action, contact the food safety team of the local authority for that business. You can report a business that is not meeting allergen requirements. How to report a restaurant that got your allergy wrong is the route.

Where this sits on SafePlate

You can search for restaurants for a food allergy, and you can search on the SafePlate homepage. Searching SafePlate is free. Unknown means no menu or visitor note mentions the food. You still phone, and you still check the bag. London, Manchester and Nottingham explain who handles food law locally. They do not treat a delivery kitchen as safe.

The usable allergy chef card, in 38 languages, is part of SafePlate Plus. Plus fills it from your profile so you can show it or print it. The allergy chef card page is a preview unless you have Plus. You cannot fill that sample in, hand it over as yours, or print it.

Set up your foods before you search. This is not medical advice. Confirm the meal with the kitchen. In the UK, if you think someone is having anaphylaxis, call 999.