Market Stall Allergen Information Australia

A market stall should display allergen information clearly and accurately, either on the label for packaged food or as information provided on request or on display for unpackaged food. For market stall allergen information in Australia, the key is that customers can find out which declared allergens are in your food before they buy, and that whoever answers can do so correctly every time. Guessing is never acceptable when an allergic reaction can be life-threatening. The Food Standards Code requires the declared allergens to be identified for the food you sell. How you present that depends on whether the food is packaged or sold unpackaged, but the underlying duty, accurate allergen information available to the customer, is the same in both cases. What is the difference between packaged and unpackaged food? The way you present allergen information depends on how the food is sold. Packaged food generally needs allergens declared on the label, while food made and sold unpackaged at the stall can provide the information on display or on request, as long as it is accurate and available before purchase. Packaged food such as pre-wrapped items usually carries a label that declares the allergens present in the ingredients. Unpackaged food such as food cooked to order can provide allergen information on a sign, a menu note or verbally when asked. Either way, the customer must be able to get correct information before they buy. The NSW Food Authority guidance on markets and temporary events is a useful reference for how traders present this at stalls. Which allergens must be declared? Australia requires a defined set of allergens to be declared because they cause the majority of serious food allergic reactions. Under the plain English allergen labelling approach, these must be identified using specific required names. The common declared allergens include the following. Allergen group Examples Cereals with gluten Wheat, rye, barley, oats Crustacea and molluscs Prawns, crab, mussels Eggs Egg and egg products Fish Finned fish Milk Dairy and milk products Peanuts and tree nuts Peanuts, almonds, cashews and others Soy, sesame, lupin Soybeans, sesame seeds, lupin Added sulphites Sulphites above the declaration threshold Because the required wording matters, keeping a clear ingredient breakdown for each dish is what makes accurate declaration possible. A structured allergen and labelling record holds those breakdowns so the answer is consistent no matter who is serving. How do you keep allergen information accurate? Accurate allergen information starts with accurate ingredient records. You cannot declare what is in a dish if you do not know exactly what went into it, including sauces, marinades, oils and garnishes where allergens often hide. Keep a written ingredient list for every menu item and update it whenever a recipe or supplier changes. Supplier changes are a common failure point. A substitute ingredient can introduce an allergen without anyone noticing, so check labels on incoming stock and update your records before you sell. Linking allergen records to your stock and expiry tracking helps you catch when a swapped product changes a dish. How should staff communicate allergens to customers? Every person serving must be able to answer an allergen question correctly or know exactly where to find the answer, and must never guess. Brief all staff and volunteers before the event on which dishes contain which allergens and on how to respond when a customer asks. A confident but wrong answer is more dangerous than saying let me check. Train staff to take allergen questions seriously every time, without exception. Keep the ingredient records where staff can reach them quickly during service. Warn customers about cross-contact risk where separation cannot be guaranteed at a small stall. If unsure, do not guess. Check the record or advise the customer you cannot confirm it is safe. Cross-contact is a real risk at a compact stall where shared surfaces and utensils are common. Be honest about it. Building allergen briefings into staff training means casual helpers arrive already knowing your dishes and your process. For authoritative detail, see FSANZ and your state health department such as NSW Health . How do you display allergen information without overwhelming customers? Clear allergen display does not mean crowding your menu board with warnings. A tidy approach is to list each dish with a short note of the allergens it contains, and add a single visible line inviting customers to ask staff about allergies before ordering. That way the information is available at a glance, and anyone with a specific concern is prompted to start a conversation rather than assume. On a chalkboard or printed menu, keep the allergen note next to the dish name so it cannot be misread as belonging to another item. If space is tight, a simple statement that full allergen details are available on request, backed by staff who can actually deliver those details, is compliant and honest. What you must avoid is a blanket may contain everything notice used to dodge responsibility, because that is neither helpful nor accurate. Should you use a written allergen matrix? Many well-run stalls keep a simple allergen matrix: a grid with dishes down one side and the declared allergens across the top, marked where each dish contains one. It gives staff a fast, reliable reference during a rush and removes the temptation to answer from memory. Keep it laminated or on a device at the counter, and update it the moment a recipe or supplier changes so the grid never falls out of step with the food you are actually selling. What records support your allergen claims? If a customer has a reaction or an Environmental Health Officer asks how you manage allergens, your ingredient records are the evidence that you took reasonable care. Records should show the ingredients of each dish, the source products used, and the date they were last reviewed. This is the same discipline that supports plain English allergen labelling, and it protects both your customers and your business. Treat allergen records as a living document rather than a one-off task. Every new menu item, seasonal special or supplier substitution is a trigger to review and update. Storing these records digitally alongside your other compliance evidence means the current version is always the one your staff see, with no risk of a superseded printout floating around the stall. Frequently asked questions How should a market stall display allergen information? Packaged food should declare allergens on its label, while unpackaged food can provide allergen information on a sign or menu note or verbally on request. In both cases the information must be accurate and available to the customer before they buy. Do I have to label allergens on food cooked to order? Food sold unpackaged does not need an individual label, but you must be able to provide accurate allergen information on request or on display. That relies on keeping correct ingredient records for every dish. What happens if a supplier changes an ingredient? Check the label on incoming stock and update your ingredient and allergen records before selling. A substituted product can introduce an allergen, so records must be reviewed whenever a recipe or supplier changes. Can staff guess allergen content if they are unsure? No. Staff must never guess. If they cannot confirm from the ingredient records, they should check or advise the customer that they cannot confirm the food is safe for that allergy. Consistent allergen answers come from having every dish broken down and briefed before you trade, not from memory at a busy counter. FoodSafety HQ gives stalls an allergen information workflow with dish-level ingredient records and staff briefings through allergen and labelling compliance . Browse our food safety guides or start a free trial on the pricing page to make allergen accuracy routine at every market.