Food allergen practice for restaurants in North Carolina and Georgia

A guest with a food allergy is trusting your staff with their life, and a single mistake can be fatal. North Carolina and Georgia do not have a stand-alone restaurant allergy law like some other states, but both build their food rules on the federal FDA Food Code, which expects the person in charge to know about allergens. This guide, checked in October 2026, explains the nine major allergens, what the Food Code says, how to train a team and what to do when something goes wrong. It is general information, not legal advice. Check the current rules with your county health department.

What are the nine major allergens?

Federal law recognizes nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. Sesame became the ninth under the FASTER Act of 2021. These account for most serious reactions, though guests can be allergic to other foods such as mustard, celery or corn. Know which of the nine appear in every item on your menu, including sauces, dressings, marinades, breading, stocks, garnishes and the oil in the fryer. Recipes and suppliers change, so check labels whenever a product changes.

What does the Food Code expect?

The 2022 FDA Food Code expects the person in charge to demonstrate knowledge of the major food allergens and the symptoms of an allergic reaction, and it also says employees should be properly trained in food safety, including food allergy awareness. States adopt the Food Code in their own ways and on their own schedules. North Carolina adopted the FDA Food Code in 2017 and began enforcing it in October 2021, and Georgia revised its food service rules in February 2025. Sources differ on whether the code requires stand-alone allergen training, so check your state's current wording with your county office.

How do you train your team?

Give every new hire a short, practical allergen session before their first service, and repeat it each year. Cover the nine allergens, how to take an allergy order, how to read your allergen chart, how to avoid cross-contact and how to respond to a reaction. Test understanding with scenarios, such as a guest who says they cannot have sesame, and ask staff to explain what they would do. Keep a record of attendance. Training that is repeated in a short pre-shift talk works better than a thick binder.

How should the dining room handle an allergy?

Servers should ask whether anyone at the table has an allergy and note it on the ticket in a way the kitchen cannot miss. Never guess. If a server does not know, they should ask the cook or the manager. Offer to bring the manager to the table. Do not say a dish is safe unless the kitchen confirms. If the kitchen cannot make a dish safely, say so and suggest another. A guest who hears an honest no will come back.

Make it easy for guests to speak up. Put a line on the menu, train hosts to ask when a table is seated and have servers repeat the order back. Some guests carry cards that list their allergies, and staff should treat those with respect. Never joke about allergies, and never tell a guest that a little will not hurt. If a guest sends back a dish, remake it from scratch with clean tools, and do not just remove an ingredient.

How should the kitchen prevent cross-contact?

Use separate, clean utensils, cutting boards and pans for an allergy order. Wash hands and change gloves. Cook on a clean surface or a fresh sheet of foil, and avoid shared fryer oil for a guest with an allergy to wheat, shellfish or fish. Plate the dish at a clean station, and have the person who cooked it carry it to the table or hand it to a server directly. Mark the plate so no garnish is added later.

How do you label the menu?

Consider an allergen chart that lists the nine allergens for each dish, kept up to date and available to staff and guests. Do not claim a dish is allergen-free or gluten-free unless you can stand behind it. Add a line that tells guests to speak to staff about allergies. If you offer packaged food for sale, such as retail items, federal labeling rules for the nine allergens apply, so check them.

What do you do if a guest has a reaction?

Stop service to the guest, call 911 for severe symptoms such as trouble breathing, swelling, hives with vomiting or fainting and tell the dispatcher it is an allergic reaction. If the guest carries an epinephrine auto-injector, help them use it if they ask. Keep the dish and the ticket. Note the time. After the incident, review what happened with the team, and contact your insurer. Consider keeping stock epinephrine on site only if your jurisdiction and a medical adviser support it.

How should you review practice?

Once a quarter, test your system with a mystery order from a staff member's family. Review complaints and near misses. Update the chart whenever you change a recipe. Ask suppliers for ingredient lists. Keep the records and the training log.

Review your suppliers too. Ask each to notify you of a change in ingredients or a recall, and subscribe to recall notices from the federal food agencies. Keep spec sheets for purchased products. Review your fryer policy and your bakery practices, because flour dust can spread wheat widely. When you hire a new chef, review the allergen chart together in the first week, and hold the chef accountable for keeping it correct.

More guides for your business:

• Buying local produce and seafood for your menu in NC and Georgia
• Game day planning for restaurants in college towns
• Hurricane preparedness for coastal restaurants in the Carolinas and Georgia

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