Scan food labels for the Big 14 allergens
The 14 allergens UK labels are required to declare under FSA rules, spotted in the ingredients on the pack and written in plain English. Read the physical label as the final check.
Free download Pro £3.99/month or £34.99/year UK FSA Big 14
The Big 14 allergens we look for
Retained EU Regulation 1169/2011 lists 14 allergens that have to be declared on UK food labels. We scan the ingredients we have and flag any we recognise. We can only report on the ingredients on the pack. For a diagnosed allergy, read the physical label as well.
Wheat, rye, barley, oats and their hybrids. Surfaces as flour, semolina, malt, bran, breadcrumbs.
Prawns, crab, lobster, langoustine, crayfish. Common in pastes, dips and ready meals.
Whole egg, white, yolk, dried egg, lecithin from egg, lysozyme. Hides in baked goods, mayo, glaze.
Whole fish, fish oil, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce, fish gelatine, fish-derived omega-3.
Peanuts, peanut oil (refined or unrefined), peanut flour, satay sauce, some snack mixes.
Soya milk, tofu, edamame, soy sauce, soy lecithin (E322). Common across baked and processed foods.
Cow's milk, butter, ghee, cheese, whey, casein, casein hydrolysate, lactose, milk powder.
Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia. Plus nut oils and pastes.
Celery stalk, leaves, seeds, celery salt, celeriac. Common in stocks, soups and ready meals.
Mustard seed, mustard powder, mustard oil, prepared mustards. Hides in salad dressings, dips and marinades.
Sesame seeds, sesame oil, tahini, halva. On bread, in dressings, across Middle-Eastern foods.
Sulphur dioxide, E220 to E228. Wine, dried fruit, pickled and processed foods. Declared above 10mg/kg.
Lupin flour, lupin seeds. Mostly in continental bakery, pasta, gluten-free baking mixes.
Mussels, oysters, scallops, squid, octopus, snails. In seafood pastes, stocks, sauces.
What an allergen scan flags
We scan the ingredients we have. If a Big 14 allergen is in there, we put it next to the product with the source line beneath. Here's a worked scan of a Sainsbury's chicken & bacon sandwich.
What an allergen scan flags
Point the camera at a UK barcode and NutraSafe pulls the ingredient list off the pack and runs it through the Big 14 checker. Take a Sainsbury's chicken and bacon sandwich: wheat flour sets off cereals containing gluten; milk powder and whey set off milk; the mustard in the mayonnaise sets off mustard. Each flag names the line of the ingredient list it came from, so you can see exactly why it triggered.
We can only report on the ingredients we hold, and voluntary "may contain" lines only show when the database carries them. So the flag reads "from the ingredients we have", never "allergen-free". For a diagnosed allergy, read the physical label every time as the final check: recipes change and databases lag a few days behind the pack.
We flag allergens, we do not diagnose
Allergens are a medical conversation, not an app conversation. Here's where we sit, and where we don't.
What we do, and what to take to your GP
We flag the Big 14 allergens we can see in the ingredients we have. That's a useful first check at the shelf, and a record you can scroll back through. Recipes change, databases lag a few days behind the pack, and 'may contain' lines are voluntary in the UK. So we say "from the ingredients we have", never "this product is allergen-free".
For a diagnosed allergy, especially anaphylaxis, read the physical label every time. The FSA's standing advice is to read the label every time, even for products you've bought before. We're a tracking tool. Take any pattern, suspected reaction or new symptom to your GP or allergy clinic. We don't diagnose intolerances and we don't prescribe.
Free flag, Pro for detail
The Big 14 flag is on the free tier so anyone can see the warning. Pro adds per-ingredient detail, plus the rest of the diary: vitamins, workouts, fasting, AI Coach.
- Big 14 allergen warning on every scanFree tier covers the flag itself.
- Up to 25 food logs a dayType, search, or barcode.
- Reaction log, up to 5 entriesBloating, energy, mood, gut, skin.
- The E-number library on this websitePlain-English entries on every E-number we cover.
- Per-ingredient allergen detailWhich line in the ingredients triggered which flag.
- Lifted free capsNo 25-a-day food cap. No 5-reaction cap.
- Vitamins & minerals against UK NRV14 vitamins, 12 minerals tracked as you log.
- AI Coach & AI meal scanChat coach that reads your diary; plate-photo logging.
- Workouts & fastingSets, reps, Apple Watch. 16:8, 5:2, custom.
- Suspected triggers from your reactionsPattern surfacing across food + reaction history.
Allergen scanner FAQ
The questions we see most in app reviews and support. If yours isn't here, our contact page goes to a real inbox.
Under UK food law (FSA, retained Food Information Regulation 1169/2011), the 14 allergens that must be declared on food labels are: celery, cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats), crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk (including lactose), molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame seeds, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites above 10mg/kg, and tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia).
We scan the barcode, pull the ingredient list from the pack, and check each ingredient against the Big 14 list. If we recognise an allergen we put a warning next to the product. The free tier shows the flag; Pro adds per-ingredient detail. We can only report on the ingredients we have, so always read the physical label as the final check, especially for life-threatening allergies.
Natasha's Law (the UK Allergen Labelling for Prepacked for Direct Sale food regulation) came into effect on 1 October 2021. It requires food that is prepacked for direct sale, like a sandwich made in store and wrapped before a customer picks it up, to carry a full ingredients list with allergens emphasised. The law followed the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who had a fatal allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger baguette.
Scanner apps can show 'may contain' (precautionary allergen labelling) when it's in the database. 'May contain' is voluntary in the UK, so a missing 'may contain' warning doesn't guarantee zero cross-contamination risk. Treat the scanner as an extra check, not a replacement for the physical label.
We map technical ingredient names back to their source. Casein and whey come up as milk. Lecithin (E322) can come from soy or eggs and we note that. Semolina is a gluten-containing cereal. Lysozyme is an egg-derived preservative. So you don't have to memorise every chemistry name, we surface the allergen behind it from the ingredients we have.
No. Scanner apps are a first-check tool. Read the physical label as the final check, especially for severe allergies. Recipes can change before databases catch up. The FSA's standing advice is that people with food allergies read the label, every time, even for products they've bought before. If you have a diagnosed allergy, take any pattern to your GP or allergy clinic.
Scan any UK packet, see the Big 14 flagged from the ingredients, then read the label as the final check
Free download. The Big 14 flag is on the free tier. Pro is £3.99 a month or £34.99 a year if you want the per-ingredient detail, the vitamins, the workouts and the AI Coach.
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