The 14 regulated allergens and how Prova flags them
In the European Union, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II ↗ lists 14 substances that must always be declared on a food label, whenever they're present as an ingredient, because they're common causes of allergic reaction or intolerance. The list applies regardless of how small the amount is.
The 14 EU allergens
| EU allergen | Everyday example | On the US "big nine"? |
|---|---|---|
| Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats) | Bread, pasta, breakfast cereal | Wheat only |
| Crustaceans | Prawns, crab, lobster | Yes |
| Eggs | Mayonnaise, baked goods | Yes |
| Fish | Tinned tuna, fish sauce | Yes |
| Peanuts | Peanut butter, satay sauce | Yes |
| Soybeans | Tofu, soy sauce | Yes |
| Milk | Cheese, yoghurt, butter | Yes |
| Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews and others) | Nut butters, pesto, baked goods | Yes (tree nuts) |
| Celery | Stock cubes, soups | No |
| Mustard | Mustard, some sauces and marinades | No |
| Sesame seeds | Tahini, hummus, sesame-topped bread | Yes |
| Sulphur dioxide & sulphites (above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/L) | Dried fruit, wine | No |
| Lupin | Some gluten-free flours and breads | No |
| Molluscs | Mussels, oysters, squid | No |
The US "big nine" — milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame — is set by US federal food-labelling law; sesame was added as the ninth major allergen by the FASTER Act, 2021 ↗, effective January 1, 2023. It doesn't cover celery, mustard, sulphites, lupin or molluscs, and its "wheat" and "tree nuts" categories are narrower than the EU's broader gluten-cereals and nuts entries.
Contains, may contain, and no data
When Prova shows an allergen status, it reflects what the underlying product record says, not an independent test:
- Contains — the allergen is listed as an ingredient on the record Prova looked up.
- May contain — the record carries a precautionary statement, typically for cross-contamination during manufacturing, rather than a deliberate ingredient.
- No data — the record doesn't include allergen information one way or the other. This is not the same as "allergen-free" — it means the source data is incomplete.
The label always wins
Product databases are community-sourced and can be outdated, incomplete, or describe a different pack size or regional formulation than the one in front of you. Manufacturers also reformulate products without warning. If you or someone you're shopping for has an allergy, always check the label on the pack in your hand — it's the legally binding source, even when Prova shows a clear result.
How Prova uses this
Every Prova result shows each of the 14 EU allergens as contains, may contain, or no data, drawn from the product record or, when you photograph a label, read directly from the ingredients panel.
You can select any of the 14 allergens in your personal profile, and Prova highlights matches whenever you look up a product, so a flagged allergen isn't easy to miss.
When a barcode has no match, photographing the label lets Prova read the ingredients directly and check them against your profile the same way. Full detail on how grading and allergen matching work is on the support page.
Set up your allergen profile in a couple of taps.
Get Prova — free barcode scanning, no ads, no accountProva is an information tool, not medical or dietary advice — always check the physical label, especially if you have an allergy.