Is a Restaurant Required to List Allergens? US Rules

A restaurant required to list allergens is a question the FDA's pages answer in two parts. Its page on food allergies describes labels on packaged foods and does not mention restaurants or menus, while its Food Code, a model that governments may adopt, describes written notice for unpackaged food. Here is what each says and what to ask.

This guide quotes official pages as they read on November 9, 2026, and it is not legal or medical advice.

What does federal law say about a restaurant required to list allergens?

The FDA's page "Food Allergies: What You Need to Know" explains the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, known as FALCPA, which requires food labels to clearly identify the food source names of major allergens. The page, current as of August 16, 2024, describes labels. It does not mention restaurants, food service or menu disclosure.

So the page you would reach first for "what does federal law say about allergens" is about the package on a shelf. For the plate a kitchen cooks to order, the next place to look is the Food Code, described below, and then your own state or local health department.

What are the major food allergens in the United States?

The FDA lists nine: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. FALCPA identified the original eight. The FASTER Act, signed on April 23, 2021, declared sesame the ninth major food allergen, and the FDA says the change took effect on January 1, 2023.

Celery, mustard and molluscs such as oysters and clams are not among the nine, so name your own allergen when you ask.

What does the labeling rule cover on a package?

The FDA page says the source name of a major allergen must appear in one of two ways: in parentheses after the ingredient name, as in "whey (milk)", or in a "contains" statement next to the ingredient list. The FDA enforces FALCPA on the foods it regulates, and the page notes that poultry, most meats, certain egg products and most alcoholic beverages fall under other federal agencies.

The page adds that some products may still be sold with sesame missing from the label after the requirement took effect, so read the whole label on any packaged item.

What is the Food Code, and is it a law?

The FDA's Food Code page calls it a model that assists food control jurisdictions at all levels of government, and says local, state, tribal and federal regulators use it as a model to create or update their own food safety rules. The page, current as of October 22, 2026, calls the 2026 Food Code the most recent full edition.

The FDA's page on sesame in the 2022 edition is blunt on the point that matters: the model code is "neither federal law nor federal regulation". Whether any of it binds a kitchen near you depends on whether your state or local government adopted an edition and what that government did with it.

What does the Food Code say about unpackaged food?

On the 2022 edition, the FDA's sesame page says unpackaged foods served or sold to consumers within a retail food establishment must have written notification to consumers of major allergens, and it cites Food Code Section 3-602.12. It says written notification can take physical or electronic forms, including brochures, menus and placards.

The same page says employee food safety training programs must include food allergy awareness of the nine major food allergens, citing Sections 2-102.11 and 2-103.11, and it lists Section 2-103.11, Person in Charge, among its resources. These are statements about the model code, so ask a place or your health department what your area actually requires.

What is the difference between a menu notice and a package label?

A package label is fixed at the factory and read at the shelf. A notice about a plate is made by the kitchen, often as a line on a menu, a card, a placard or a spoken answer. The first is what FALCPA describes. The second is what the model code describes, where it has been adopted.

For a diner the practical difference is simple: a label is on the item, and a plate cooked to order has no label, so the answer comes from a person.

How should you ask when the rules vary?

Ask before you order. Say the allergen by name, not only the group, and ask whether the dish, its sauce and its cooking surface involve it. Ask who can check with the cook, and whether there is a written notice, a card or an ingredient sheet you can read.

A written notice helps, and it is not the end of the conversation, since recipes change and shared pans and fryers cause cross-contact. Your own doctor decides what is right for you. The FDA's allergen page is a good place to start reading, and our guide to eating out with food allergies in the US goes through the questions.

How can the Mosey app help you read a menu?

In the Mosey app, "Hide dishes that list" lets you choose allergens and hides any dish a place has listed with one. A dish the place has not filled in stays on the menu and reads "Allergens not listed, ask the place". The app shows what a place chooses to say and is not a legal notice, so it never replaces asking. The choice stays on your phone, and it never filters whole places.

You can rate each dish, add a note on what you were told, and use tags as one diner's view. A list such as Rules and replies can be shared by link, and friends can follow you. Mosey welcomes small places with free listing, affordable tools and no hidden fees, so supporting local stays central, and a place can declare its allergens in its dashboard.

Where else can you read about food rules?

Our gluten and the FDA rule guide, the US food guides, the ratings page and the lists page carry on from here.

Before your next meal out, get the Mosey app, rate the dish and keep a list of what each kitchen told you.