Allergens for coffee roasters: flavoured coffee and shared lines
Plain coffee is not an allergen, so many roasters forget the rules apply to them. They do the moment you sell flavoured coffee, chocolate-coated beans or drinks with milk.
6 min read Updated 9 October 2026
UK food law names 14 allergens that must be declared when used as ingredients: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, soya, and sulphur dioxide and sulphites above a set level. Coffee is not on the list. The risk for roasters comes from what else they handle.
Where allergens enter a roastery
- Flavourings for flavoured coffee (some carriers and flavour preparations contain allergens; check the specification)
- Coated or inclusion products: chocolate-coated beans, nut blends
- Drinks served in a roastery cafe: milk, plant milks such as soya or oat, syrups, cakes
- Shared grinders, packing equipment or roasters used for flavoured products
Controls
Allergen management
- Get a specification for every non-coffee ingredient and record its allergens
- Keep a matrix of which products contain which allergens
- Dedicate equipment to flavoured products where possible; if not, clean and verify between runs
- Schedule flavoured or allergen runs last, followed by cleaning
- Store allergen ingredients sealed, labelled and separately
- Train staff, and check labels at the start of each pack run
Labelling
On prepacked foods, allergens used as ingredients must be emphasised in the ingredients list, for example in bold. Prepacked for direct sale foods, packed on the premises where they are sold, need the same. For non-prepacked food, such as drinks served in a cafe, allergen information must be available to customers, in writing or orally with a written notice explaining how to obtain it. See coffee labelling.
'May contain' statements
Precautionary allergen labelling such as 'may contain nuts' should only be used after a risk assessment shows a real, unavoidable risk of cross-contact. It is not a substitute for good controls, and using it on everything removes choice from allergic customers.
Where Roastnet helps
Questions roasters ask
- Is coffee an allergen?
- Coffee is not one of the 14 allergens that must be declared under UK food law. Some people react to coffee, but it is not a regulated allergen.
- Do flavoured coffees need allergen labelling?
- If any ingredient, including a flavouring or its carrier, contains a regulated allergen, it must be declared and emphasised. Ask your flavour supplier for a full specification.
Official sources
- Food Standards Agency: Allergen guidance for food businesses
- Food Standards Agency: Allergen labelling for PPDS food
Rules change. These sources were checked on 9 October 2026; always confirm the current position with the body that publishes them before you act.
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