The basic legal framework: a restaurant has a duty of care to its guests, which includes accurately disclosing the allergens present in the food it serves. A guest who suffers an allergic reaction caused by undisclosed or misdisclosed allergens has grounds for a civil suit against the restaurant.
A guest with a peanut allergy almost always remembers to ask about peanuts. The allergic reactions that send people to hospital usually come from the allergens they didn't think to ask about — because the kitchen didn't disclose them, and the dish didn't seem to contain them.
Traveling with severe food allergies has gotten meaningfully easier in 2026, but the experience varies enormously by country. Some destinations have strict allergen disclosure laws and well-trained restaurant staff; others operate on assumptions about cuisine that can be dangerous for an allergic guest.
Should allergens be icons or text or both?
EU Regulation 1169/2011 — Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers (often shortened to "FIC") — is the foundational EU law on food labeling and information disclosure.
The required allergens vary by jurisdiction. The four most relevant frameworks for international tourist-area restaurants:
