Allergen menu matrix India

FSSAI allergen declaration requirements for Indian restaurants

The Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2020 (FSS(L&D)R 2020), effective from January 2021, mandated that food businesses declare the presence of 14 major allergens in menu items. Schedule II of the regulations lists these 14 allergens. The requirement applies to restaurants, hotels, cloud kitchens, and any food service establishment that prepares and serves food to consumers.

The practical requirement is that any ingredient from the 14 allergen categories must be declared on the menu, the display board, or on a separate allergen information sheet available to customers on request. The declaration must be visible and accessible.

The 14 FSSAI Schedule II allergens

• Cereals containing gluten — wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, and their derivatives. Highly prevalent in Indian kitchens: atta, maida, suji, bread, pasta, soy sauce, beer. Many sauces and marinades contain wheat starch as a thickener without it being visible in the dish.
• Crustaceans — prawns, crab, lobster, shrimp. Common in coastal Indian cuisines. Prawn stock is sometimes used as a base for non-prawn dishes in some regional cuisines.
• Eggs — including egg-based binders, mayonnaise, egg wash on breads. Eggs are used in batters for fried items, in some doughs, and in continental sauces even in restaurants that are otherwise vegetarian.
• Fish — including fish sauce, anchovy paste, Worcestershire sauce (which contains anchovies). Fish-derived ingredients appear in some Asian sauces used in fusion dishes.
• Peanuts — groundnuts, peanut oil, peanut chutney. One of the most dangerous allergens; even trace exposure can trigger anaphylaxis in sensitised individuals. Peanuts are ubiquitous in Indian cooking — chutneys, chaats, salads, and stir-fries frequently contain groundnuts.
• Soybeans — soy sauce, tofu, soya chunks (widely used in North Indian vegetarian dishes as a meat substitute). Soy lecithin appears in many packaged ingredients including chocolate, bread, and some margarines.
• Milk and dairy — the most widely present allergen in Indian cooking: ghee, butter, cream, paneer, curd, khoya. Even dry dishes may use ghee finishing. Dairy is separate from lactose intolerance; the allergen response is to milk proteins (casein, whey).
• Tree nuts — almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, pecans, hazelnuts. Cashew paste is a base for many North Indian gravies including butter chicken and shahi paneer. Almonds appear in biryanis, desserts, and some chutneys.
• Celery — less common in traditional Indian cooking but present in some continental preparations, salads, and cold cuts.
• Mustard — mustard oil is used extensively in Bengali, Rajasthani, and Kashmiri cooking. Mustard seeds are used across cuisines. Yellow mustard paste appears in some grilled and marinated items.
• Sesame seeds — til is used in chutneys, desserts (til laddoo), breads (sesame burger bun), and some marinades. Tahini (sesame paste) appears in hummus and some fusion preparations. Sesame allergy can be severe.
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites — used as a preservative in dried fruits, wine, vinegar, some packaged chutneys and achar, and certain fruit juices. Must be declared when present at >10 mg/kg or mg/litre.
• Lupin — lupin flour is sometimes used in gluten-free baked goods as a wheat substitute. Less common in traditional Indian cooking but may appear in health-focused or bakery menus.
• Molluscs — squid, octopus, oysters, clams, mussels. Present in seafood-focused menus and some Asian cuisines.

Where this fits

• Food safety checklist — daily FSSAI-aligned hygiene and safety log for kitchen operations
• Recipe cost card — detailed ingredient lists from recipe cost cards feed directly into allergen declarations
• Compliance calendar 2026 — track FSSAI licence renewal, audit dates, and statutory deadlines
• Temperature log — FSSAI daily temperature records for refrigeration and hot-hold compliance
• P5 — Compliance pillar — complete guide to FSSAI licence, food safety regulations, and compliance for Indian restaurants