6 questions about allergen management in digital menus

According to EU Regulation No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, any food business operator has a legal obligation to inform customers about the presence of the 14 major allergens in the dishes served. This obligation applies to both printed and digital menus.

Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to sanctions from ANPC (the National Authority for Consumer Protection) and, more seriously, can endanger the health of allergic customers. A complete guide on legal obligations regarding food allergens in Romania can give you a detailed picture of the applicable regulatory framework.

By implementing a digital menu with allergen support, your restaurant demonstrates transparency and responsibility towards customers.

European legislation requires the mandatory declaration of the following 14 major allergens:

• Gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt)
• Crustaceans and derived products
• Eggs and egg-based products
• Fish and fish-based products
• Peanuts and derived products
• Soybeans and derived products
• Milk and dairy products (including lactose)
• Nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, etc.)
• Celery and derived products
• Mustard and derived products
• Sesame seeds and derived products
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
• Lupin and derived products
• Molluscs and derived products

The Menivo platform includes all 14 allergens predefined in the system. When you add a new product, you simply check the corresponding allergens, without having to search for additional information. You can read more about how to correctly add allergens to each product in the Menivo platform.

Menivo has integrated allergen management directly into the menu product creation and editing flow. The process is simple and intuitive:

• Add a product in the drag-and-drop editor (name, description, price, photo).
• Check the allergens present in the product from a complete list of all 14 allergens.
• Save, and the allergens automatically appear clearly displayed on the digital menu, visible to customers by scanning the QR code.
• Any subsequent modification to the recipe is immediately reflected in the menu, without reprinting or additional costs.

In addition to allergens, Menivo also has an AI-based allergen generator, which can automatically suggest the appropriate allergens based on the ingredients you enter.

Yes. Menivo offers a nutritional values calculator integrated directly into the digital menu creation platform. This way, for each product, you can display to customers both the allergens and the complete nutritional information: calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats, and more.

This combination — allergens + nutritional values — is exactly what health-conscious customers and people with dietary restrictions are looking for. A restaurant that offers this information transparently gains more trust and retains customers more easily.

You can find out more about how the nutritional values calculator for the menu works in Menivo or you can check the step-by-step guide for the AI nutritional values calculator.

This is one of the biggest advantages of a digital menu over a printed one. With Menivo, updating allergens literally takes a few seconds:

• You log into the Menivo admin panel.
• You select the modified product.
• You check or uncheck the allergens corresponding to the new recipe.
• You save the change.

The menu seen by customers when scanning the QR code updates instantly, with no reprinting costs, no communication errors with staff, and no risk of an old version of the menu still circulating in the restaurant.

Compare this flexibility with classic printed menus and you'll understand why modern restaurants are giving up printed menus.

The simplest step is to create a free account at menivo.io and follow the step-by-step setup guide. Here's briefly what you need to do:

• Step 1: Register at menivo.io and create your account.
• Step 2: Add your restaurant (name, address, logo, schedule).
• Step 3: Create menu categories (e.g., Appetizers, Main Courses, Desserts).
• Step 4: Add products with photos, prices, descriptions, ingredients, and checked allergens.
• Step 5: Generate your restaurant's unique QR code from the dedicated section.
• Step 6: Download and display the QR code in the restaurant — on tables, at the entrance, or on special stands.

If you want a detailed guide, check out the article creating a restaurant menu in Menivo – step-by-step guide or the tutorial on how to add and create products in the menu.

The entire initial setup process, including adding allergens for all products, can be completed in less than an hour, even without prior technical experience.