The allergen disclaimer
Publishing allergen information creates an expectation. This page is about the wording that must accompany it, where to put that wording, and where the product's responsibility ends and the restaurant's begins.
The boundary, stated plainly
Fenómenus stores, displays and filters the allergen information you enter.
It does not:
- read or interpret recipes;
- infer allergens from a dish name or a photo;
- verify supplier specifications;
- track cross-contact in your kitchen;
- assess compliance with the food-information rules that apply to your business.
Accuracy, review, staff training and legal compliance are the restaurant's responsibility. No feature in this product changes that.
What a guest assumes
A guest who filters a menu by gluten and orders from the result assumes the restaurant has checked. That assumption is created by the filter existing, not by anything you wrote. Two consequences follow:
- an untagged dish reads as a dish with no allergens;
- a filter that returns a dish is, to that guest, an assurance.
Publish allergen data only for items that have actually been reviewed.
Where to put the wording
Fenómenus has no dedicated disclaimer field. Use the places that already exist:
| Place | What belongs there |
|---|---|
| The allergen descriptions in the library | What each allergen covers |
| A menu's footer note (Nota al pie) on tasting and set menus | Conditions and the invitation to ask |
| An item's description | A dish-specific caveat |
| The PDF footer legend | The line that must appear on every printed page |
| The home page or a legal page | The full statement |
The PDF footer legend is the most reliable of these for print, because it repeats on every page and supports {{current_date}}, which dates the snapshot.
What the wording should say
Adapt to your jurisdiction and your operation, and have it reviewed by whoever advises you on food law. In substance it usually needs to cover:
- that the information describes ingredients used in the recipe;
- how your kitchen handles cross-contact and shared equipment;
- that guests with an allergy should tell the floor before ordering;
- that recipes and suppliers can change;
- when the information was last reviewed.
A dated snapshot is not a live menu
A printed or downloaded PDF states the allergens as they were when it was generated. If the wording invites guests to rely on it, date it — the footer legend's {{current_date}} exists for exactly this — and regenerate the file whenever allergen data changes.
The digital menu is the source of truth. Say so in the wording if guests may be holding an older paper copy.
Traces and shared equipment
There is one mark per allergen and no separate "may contain" state. Whichever policy you adopt — tagging conservatively, or tagging the recipe and declaring the shared-equipment risk in words — the policy must be written down and applied by everyone who tags dishes.
See Assign allergens to items.
The floor is part of the system
The best allergen data in the world is a screen. A guest with a serious allergy will still ask, and the answer they get at the table is the one that matters. Make sure staff know where the information lives, what the house policy is, and that "I will check with the kitchen" is always the right answer when they are unsure.