European restaurants will have to warn their customers about allergic components in the menu

According to a new law restaurants and takeaways across Europe will be required to tell customers if their food contains ingredients known to trigger allergies.

Staff must provide information on 14 everyday allergens including nuts, milk, celery, gluten, soya and wheat. The new measures cover meals served in bakeries, cafes, care homes and packaged produce sold by supermarkets. There may be fines for repeat offenders. More than 17 million people suffering from different allergies live in Europe.

Customers must be told if their food contains any of the following: celery - including any found in stock cubes and soup, cereals (containing gluten - including spelt, wheat, rye, barley), eggs, fish, lupin (can be found in some types of bread, pastries, pasta, milk), nuts - for example almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, macadamia, peanuts, sesame seed, soya, sulphur dioxide (used as a preservative in dried fruit, meat products, soft drinks, vegetables, alcohol)

Experts say the majority of these deaths and visits to hospital are avoidable, and some are a result of people being given incorrect information about ingredients.

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