Allergens on the menu: what Portuguese law requires
In Portugal, restaurants, cafés and pastry shops must state for each dish the substances that cause allergies or intolerances, and that information must be on a medium the customer can easily understand. The rule comes from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 and Decreto-Lei 26/2016; the inspection authority is ASAE. This guide sums up what the law says, with the articles quoted.
Updated October 2026
Which places are covered
Decreto-Lei 26/2016 of 9 June applies in Portugal the EU rules on information for food not sold pre-packed. Its preamble defines mass catering broadly, including every establishment where ready-to-eat food is prepared — restaurants, cafés, pastry shops, canteens and similar.
What article 4 requires
Under article 4(1), food supplied by mass caterers must carry two mandatory particulars: the name of the food and the “indication of substances or products referred to in Annex II of the Regulation that may cause allergies or intolerances”.
The name may not be immediately available, provided it is shown “clearly” how to obtain it (paragraph 2). For allergens the rule is stricter: under paragraph 3 the information “must be available on any medium that allows the consumer to easily understand it”. A menu with allergens per dish, a chart on the wall or a digital menu all work, as long as the information is clear and within the customer’s reach.
The 14 allergens of Annex II
Cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seeds, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l), lupin and molluscs. The free allergen chart has all 14 ready to tick.
Fines and inspections
As worded in 2016, article 11 sets fines of €100 to €3,740 for individuals and €250 to €44,890 for companies for breaching the information rules on non-pre-packed food; negligence and attempt are also punishable. Check the regime currently in force, as Portugal’s framework for economic offences has been revised since.
Article 12 gives ASAE responsibility for inspections and case files, and its inspector-general for imposing fines.
Common mistakes
- Forgetting hidden allergens: wine in a marinade (sulphites), flour in a sauce (gluten), bought stock (celery), butter (milk). See carne de porco à alentejana, a classic case of molluscs in a meat dish.
- Not updating the information when a recipe or supplier changes.
- Giving the information only in Portuguese to guests who cannot read it — the point of the law is that the consumer can easily understand it.
- Trusting an automatically generated list without checking it. In Platerio, allergens suggested by the AI only show to guests after the owner confirms them.
Frequently asked questions
Must restaurants in Portugal list allergens?
Yes. Article 4 of Decreto-Lei 26/2016 requires mass caterers to state the substances in Annex II of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 on a medium the consumer can easily understand.
Is “ask your server” enough?
For the dish name the law accepts showing how to get the information. For allergens, article 4(3) asks for the information to be available on an easily understood medium — so it is safer to have it written, per dish.
Who inspects allergen information in restaurants?
ASAE, under article 12 of Decreto-Lei 26/2016.