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Ingredient List & Allergen Generator
Put ingredients in weight order and emphasise the 14 allergens
Enter every ingredient with the weight you use in the whole recipe. We tick allergens we recognise from the name. Always check the ticks yourself.
May contain (cross-contamination, optional)
Only use this after a proper risk assessment, where the risk is real and cannot be removed.
Allergen suggestions are a guide only. You are responsible for checking every ingredient, and this is not a guarantee of compliance with food labelling law.
A free ingredient list generator for UK food. Type each ingredient and the weight you use, and the tool puts them in the right order, heaviest first, and emphasises the 14 major allergens in bold every time they appear. Copy the list, print it or save it as an image. No sign-up, and everything stays in your browser.
How to Make an Ingredient List
- Add your ingredients. Type each one the way it should appear on the label, such as wheat flour or unsalted butter.
- Enter the weight in grams of each ingredient in the whole recipe. The tool uses this to order the list, so you do not have to sort it yourself.
- Check the allergen ticks. We tick the allergens we recognise from the ingredient name. Open the allergen box on each ingredient and correct anything we missed or got wrong.
- Add “may contain” and the allergen advice line if you need them.
- Copy, print or download the finished list.
What the UK Rules Say About the Ingredients List
Most pre-packed food with two or more ingredients needs an ingredients list. Water and additives count towards that number. The list must sit under the heading “Ingredients”, or a suitable heading that includes the word ingredients.
Ingredients must be listed in order of weight, with the main ingredient first. The weight is based on the amounts used to make the food. Additives are listed by name or code.
Some foods are exempt from an ingredients list, for example fresh fruit and vegetables, carbonated water and foods with a single ingredient.
The 14 Allergens
These are the 14 major allergens in UK law. If one is used as an ingredient or processing aid, it has to be on the label:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten: wheat (such as spelt and Khorasan), rye, barley and oats
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs
- Mustard
- Tree nuts, including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Soybeans
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites, if at a concentration of more than ten parts per million
How to Emphasise Allergens
Allergenic ingredients must be emphasised every time they appear in the ingredients list. Bold, a different font or style, a contrasting colour or a background colour all count.
The allergen also needs a clear reference. Official examples are tofu (soya), tahini paste (sesame) and whey (milk), where the ingredient's own name does not say which allergen it contains. When you tick an allergen that is not in the ingredient's name, this tool adds that bold reference in brackets for you, for example butter (milk).
Allergen Advice and “May Contain”
An allergen advice line, such as “Allergen advice: for allergens, see ingredients in bold”, is optional. You can switch it on or off in the tool.
“May contain” wording is only for genuine, unavoidable cross-contamination risk, and should be used after a proper risk assessment. It is not a substitute for listing an allergen that is actually in the recipe, which is why the tool will not add a “may contain” allergen that is already ticked as an ingredient.
Food Sold Without a Wrapper, and PPDS
Food that is prepacked for direct sale (PPDS), such as a sandwich made and wrapped on the premises, needs a label with a full ingredients list and the allergenic ingredients emphasised in it. This has applied since 1 October 2021.
For food that is not prepacked, businesses are not currently required by law to give a full ingredients list, but allergen information must still be provided.
What This Tool Does Not Do
It does not work out percentages of ingredients (QUID), where an ingredient has to be declared as a percentage, and it does not check the rules for compound ingredients such as a sauce made of several ingredients. Type the sub-ingredients into the name if you need them listed, for example tomato sauce (tomatoes, onion, celery).
It does not check your recipe, and its allergen suggestions come from a keyword list, so the ticks are only a starting point. For the nutrition table, use our Nutrition Label Generator.
Sources
This page is general information, not legal advice. Food labelling law changes over time, so check an official source if you need this for your own business's compliance.Frequently Asked Questions
Do ingredients have to be listed in weight order?
Yes. On pre-packed food, ingredients are listed in order of weight, with the main ingredient first, based on the amounts used to make the food.
Which allergens have to be emphasised?
The 14 major allergens: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, and sulphur dioxide and sulphites above ten parts per million. Each one is emphasised every time it appears in the ingredients list.
Do I need a separate “Contains” line?
Not as a rule. The government guidance says a contains statement is only required for alcoholic drinks that have no ingredients list. An allergen advice line is optional.
Can I use this for food I sell without packaging?
Businesses are not currently required to give a full ingredients list for non-prepacked food, but they must still provide allergen information. Food prepacked for direct sale does need a full ingredients list with the allergens emphasised.
How reliable are the automatic allergen ticks?
They are suggestions only, based on a keyword list. The tool cannot know what is inside a shop-bought sauce or a stock cube. Always check the ingredient's own label and tick the allergens yourself.
Is the tool free?
Yes, it is completely free with no sign-up, and nothing you enter is saved or sent anywhere.