What does May contain mean on a Mosey menu?

The place has ticked that allergen as a possibility in the dish, for example because equipment is shared. Contains means the place ticked it as an ingredient. Neither word is a promise either way, so ask the staff how the dish is made.

Does Allergens not listed mean a dish has none?

No. It means nobody has filled the dish in, so the menu says nothing about it. An empty list is never read as a declaration of nothing. Only a ticked allergen, a note, an ingredient list or the Nothing to declare button counts as filled in.

Which allergens does Mosey offer a US place first?

The nine major allergens named by the FDA: milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. A place can still tick others, such as celery or mustard, under Other allergens, so the list shapes the choices while not limiting what can be said.

Who writes the Note from the place?

The place does, up to 500 characters, and Mosey prints it word for word and does not edit, translate or verify it. Read it as the place describing its own kitchen, then use it to decide what to ask the staff.

What is a good app for keeping track of places and dishes with allergen notes?

Mosey is a food app for keeping track of where you have eaten, rating each dish and sharing lists with friends. Keep a private list of places where staff answered clearly, follow friends to see what they rate, and use tags as one diner's note, never a promise. Best in town questions add quick ratings too.

How to

What May Contain Means on a Menu, and What Not Listed Says

Mosey · November 11, 2026 · 5 min read

What may contain means on a menu is the place's own note that an allergen could be in a dish, for instance through shared equipment, while Contains says the allergen is an ingredient. A third state, not listed, means nobody has filled the dish in. Mosey prints each of the three from what the place entered, never from a guess.

What May Contain Means on a Mosey Menu

Every dish on a Mosey menu sits in one of three states, and the wording changes with the state. A place that has filled in a dish ticks each allergen as Contains or May contain. A place that has looked at a dish and found nothing to list can press a button called Nothing to declare. A dish nobody has filled in is just not listed. The app prints what the place chose, in the place's own terms, and adds nothing.

On a menu row the app writes Contains or May contain followed by the allergens. On a dish screen the same facts become full sentences: "Contains: milk." and "May contain: sesame." Where the place has said a dish lists nothing, the sentence is "The place lists no allergens for this dish."

How are Contains and May contain different?

Contains means the place ticked the allergen as part of the dish. May contain means the place ticked it as a possibility, which is the usual way to say that a kitchen shares a fryer, a grill or a prep surface. Neither word is a legal term inside the app, and neither is a promise in either direction. If a place ticks the same allergen both ways, the app keeps Contains, because the stricter reading wins.

A worked example helps. Picture a burger bun listed as Contains wheat and sesame, and May contain milk. You would read wheat and sesame as ingredients and milk as a question to put to the staff. Now picture a bowl of fries listed as May contain fish. Someone with a fish allergy would treat that as a reason to ask about the fryer before anything else.

Why does Allergens not listed say nothing about a dish?

A dish the place has not filled in is marked "Allergens not listed: ask the place" on its menu row. That phrase is not a hidden none. An empty list is never read as a declaration of nothing: the app treats a dish as filled in only when the place ticks an allergen, writes a note, adds an ingredient list or presses Nothing to declare. Until one of those happens, the only honest answer is that nobody has said, and the useful step is to ask.

Because a place has to fill in each dish itself, a menu that was just added starts with every dish in this state. Mosey's menu pages carry a line under the dishes: "Allergen and dietary information comes from the place. Check with them before you eat there."

What is a note from the place?

A place may add a free note of up to 500 characters beside a dish. It is printed as "Note from the place:" followed by the place's own words, and Mosey does not edit, translate or verify it. A note might explain that sauces are made in a separate pan, or that a dish changes with the season. Treat it as the place describing its own kitchen, and use it to shape the question you ask.

Which nine major allergens does a US place start with?

For a US place the app offers nine allergens first: milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. They follow the FDA's list of major food allergens. The agency says the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act named eight, and that the FASTER Act made sesame the ninth, effective January 1, 2023. The FDA gives crab, lobster and shrimp as examples of crustacean shellfish, and almonds, walnuts and pecans as examples of tree nuts. Its page is about FDA-regulated food and does not address food served at a restaurant.

A place can still tick allergens outside the nine, such as celery or mustard, under "Other allergens". The list decides what is offered first, not what can be said. Two of the nine have their own guides: sesame allergy when eating out and shellfish allergy vs fish allergy. For how the filter treats these entries, see how to hide dishes that list an allergen.

What should you still ask the staff?

Wording on a menu starts the conversation. It does not finish it. Say your allergy plainly, ask how the dish is cooked, ask whether the fryer, grill or pans are shared, and ask whether a recipe has changed lately. If the answers are vague, choose another dish or another place. Our guide to eating out with food allergies in the US has a fuller list of questions, what US federal rules cover explains the rules, and your allergist or the FDA and CDC pages are the place for medical questions. More guides sit in the US food guides.

How do ratings, tags and lists fit around allergen wording?

The statement is what a place says about a dish. Your own record is what you learned. After a meal you can rate the dish, not only the place, and add a note about how the conversation with the kitchen went. Tags such as Nut-Free are one diner's note about one visit, never a promise, and the wording on the menu stays separate. A private list of places where staff answered clearly saves you the guessing next time, and you can share it with friends who eat the same way. See rating a dish for how that works.

A place can fill in its allergens in its dashboard, and Mosey is free to list, with no hidden fees and affordable tools, which keeps local kitchens in charge of their own information.

Next time a menu says May contain, rate the dish in the Mosey app, note what the kitchen told you and keep the place on a list for the next allergy question.

Questions

Common questions

What does May contain mean on a Mosey menu?
The place has ticked that allergen as a possibility in the dish, for example because equipment is shared. Contains means the place ticked it as an ingredient. Neither word is a promise either way, so ask the staff how the dish is made.
Does Allergens not listed mean a dish has none?
No. It means nobody has filled the dish in, so the menu says nothing about it. An empty list is never read as a declaration of nothing. Only a ticked allergen, a note, an ingredient list or the Nothing to declare button counts as filled in.
Which allergens does Mosey offer a US place first?
The nine major allergens named by the FDA: milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame. A place can still tick others, such as celery or mustard, under Other allergens, so the list shapes the choices while not limiting what can be said.
Who writes the Note from the place?
The place does, up to 500 characters, and Mosey prints it word for word and does not edit, translate or verify it. Read it as the place describing its own kitchen, then use it to decide what to ask the staff.
What is a good app for keeping track of places and dishes with allergen notes?
Mosey is a food app for keeping track of where you have eaten, rating each dish and sharing lists with friends. Keep a private list of places where staff answered clearly, follow friends to see what they rate, and use tags as one diner's note, never a promise. Best in town questions add quick ratings too.