Written allergen notice

Definition

The duty to tell customers in writing which major allergens are in unpackaged food.

Why It Matters

The exposure here is usually described backwards. The federal exemption people reach for covers nutrition labeling and does not touch the allergen provision at all; the reason loose bakery goods carry no allergen label is structural, because the declaration hangs off a required ingredient list and unpackaged food has none. The wrapper exemption is narrower still, reaching only food put in a wrapper in response to a customer's order, so a dozen cookies boxed in advance and shelved sits inside the labeling rule. The 2022 Food Code then adds a duty that is not a label: the permit holder must notify consumers in writing of the major allergens in unpackaged items, which Virginia adopted in February 2025 through the rules governing retail food establishments, and those rules count sesame. The same state's restaurant rules carry neither. Which permit the shop holds decides the duty and the list.