Allergens: Flag What Each Menu Item Contains, Separate from Dietary Codes

Up until now, caterers using Puree have flagged dietary information on items using dietary codes — GF for gluten-free, V for vegan, that sort of thing. But dietary codes describe what a dish is suitable for. They don't say what it contains. For a guest with a serious allergy, the difference matters. Allergens are a new alongside dietary codes for exactly that — telling the customer (and the kitchen) what's in each dish, in plain language.

Why a Separate Concept?

We wrestled with this — "dietary code" and "allergen" overlap enough that it's tempting to just lump them together. But they're really doing two different jobs:

• Dietary codes are positive — "this dish is fine for a vegan / gluten-free / dairy-free guest." They reassure.
• Allergens are a warning — "this dish contains milk / egg / gluten / sulphites." They protect.

Many caterers in the UK and EU already write allergens inline in item names ("GF Fruit Tart (egg, milk)") because the legislation expects them to be declared. Pulling that out of the name and into a structured field means the same information renders consistently across every quote, menu, and chef docket — and is visually distinct enough that staff and customers can't miss it.

Setting Up Allergens

Go to Settings → Dietary Codes — you'll see two tabs at the top: Dietary Codes and Allergens. Switch to the Allergens tab and click New Allergen. Each allergen has:

• A short code (up to 5 characters — e.g. GLUT, MILK, EGG, SULF) used for tight badges in menus
• A full name (e.g. Gluten, Milk, Egg, Sulphites) used in the "contains: …" line that appears on quotes and dockets

Allergens are entirely under your control — there's no fixed list. UK caterers will probably want to add all 14 statutory allergens; US caterers can match the Big 9; AU/NZ caterers can use their 11. Add only the ones you actually need.

Tagging Items

On any menu item's edit page, the right-hand column now has two sections side-by-side: Dietary Codes (the existing checkboxes) and Allergens (a new amber-tinted section). Tick whatever applies — a dish can carry both. A gluten-free brownie that contains soya, for example, gets GF in the dietary section and SOYA in the allergens section.

Where Allergens Appear

• Online menu admin — an amber "contains gluten, egg, milk" label appears next to the dish name, alongside the existing dietary badges
• Quotes — a separate amber "Allergens present in this menu" key sits below the existing dietary key, and each row shows a small "contains …" caption under the dish name
• Order summary & show pages — a dedicated allergen key appears beneath the dietary key
• Chef docket — every item carries a bold amber contains: gluten, egg, milk line so the kitchen can scan for risk at a glance

The visual treatment is intentionally different from dietary codes. Dietary codes use neutral / green styling because they're reassuring. Allergens use amber tones with a small warning glyph because they're safety information — staff and customers should be able to tell them apart without reading the label.

What About My Existing Items?

Nothing changes automatically. Items whose names already contain "(egg, milk)" or similar text in the title will keep that text — we don't try to parse or migrate it. If you want allergens flagged structurally, tick them on the item form going forward. You can clean up old item names whenever it's convenient.

Snapshots Stay With the Order

Like dietary codes, the allergens tagged on an item are snapshotted onto the order when items are added. If you later add a new allergen to an item, past orders won't suddenly show that allergen — they reflect what was true the day the order was raised. That matters because the dietary information on a signed contract should be a fixed record of what the customer agreed to.

A Quick Note on Legal Responsibility

Allergen labelling is a regulated thing in most jurisdictions — Natasha's Law in the UK, FDA labelling rules in the US, the Food Standards Code in Australia/NZ. Puree gives you the tooling to record and display allergens consistently, but accuracy is on the caterer. Tag every item carefully, keep the list in sync as recipes change, and treat the allergen field as the source of truth — not the old freeform text in item names.

Allergens have been one of the most requested gaps in Puree from caterers operating in markets where allergen declaration is mandatory. It's now built in — same place, same UX as dietary codes, with the visual treatment they need to do their job. If there's anything missing, let us know.