Food allergy guides for restaurants

• The 9 major food allergens: a guide for restaurants

  The nine major U.S. food allergens, where they hide in restaurant dishes, and how allergen disclosure rules differ for restaurants and packaged food.

• Restaurant cross-contact checklist for food allergies

  A practical cross-contact checklist for restaurant kitchens: fryers, grills, prep stations, utensils, handwashing, garnish stations, and how to tell guests what you can't avoid.

• How to label allergens on a restaurant menu

  Options for showing allergens on a restaurant menu, from icons and allergen matrices to filterable QR menus, plus wording that is accurate and easy to maintain.

• How front-of-house teams can handle guest allergy questions

  A simple routine for front-of-house teams when a guest mentions a food allergy: listen, check the source, flag the ticket, confirm with the kitchen, and deliver with care.

• How to choose restaurant allergen menu software

  What to look for in restaurant allergen menu software: ingredient review, cross-contact handling, diets beyond the major allergens, guest languages, and how updates reach the menu.

• A practical worksheet for evaluating allergen menu software

  Evaluate restaurant allergen menu software with seven practical scenarios covering components, combined restrictions, shared fryers, translations, and recipe updates.

Blog, FAQ, and free tools

• Blog

  Practical guides on allergen menus, cross-contact, allergy laws and staff training for restaurants, plus dining-out tips for guests with food allergies.

• Frequently asked questions

  Answers about Can I Dine?™: how it works, which allergies and diets guests can filter, cross-contact and shared fryers, languages, and what it does not guarantee.

• Free allergy chef card in 10 languages

  Make a free food allergy chef card in 10 languages. Pick your allergies, print it or save the link, and hand it to your server when you eat out or travel.

• Free allergen matrix builder

  Build a restaurant allergen matrix in your browser: list your dishes, tick the allergens, then print it or download a CSV for the kitchen and front of house.

• Restaurant food allergy laws by state

  Which US states have restaurant food allergy laws, and what they require: posters, menu notices, manager training and California's SB 68 allergen disclosure.

• Ask a restaurant to publish an allergy-friendly menu

  Wish your favorite restaurant had a menu you could filter by your allergies? Tell us where you eat and we'll invite them to publish one on Can I Dine?™.