This article provides guidance to help you decide whether recipes are suitable for various special diets. In order to assess whether a recipe is suitable for a particular special diet, you need to have complete information on all the recipe ingredients. You need you know all the ingredients that are present in foods such as sauces, stocks/bouillons, margarines/spreads and other compound ingredients. You need to know whether flavourings, colours and other additives have carriers such as salt, sugar, wheat flour, wheat starch, soya oil or gelatine. You need to know whether herb/spice extracts have carriers such as salt, sugar, wheat flour or wheat starch. If the recipe contains lecithin, you need to know whether this is derived from soya or egg. If the recipe contains cheese, casein or whey, you need to know whether this was made using rennet or a vegetarian equivalent.
For manufactured recipes, check with the food manufacturer regarding suitability for particular diets. Even if a recipe does not contain particular ingredients, it may not be suitable for a specific diet as a result of manufacturing processes. This is particularly important for food allergies where a very small amount of an allergen can result in a severe allergic reaction, e.g. nuts.
If setting recipe flags, it is very important that the settings are correct for each recipe: food allergic individuals could have a potentially severe reaction to a food that is unsuitable for their special dietary requirements.
GLUTEN FREE:
The recipe should not contain protein derived from wheat, rye, barley or oats. For example, wheat flour, wheat protein (wheat gluten), rye flour, porridge oats or pearl barley would not be suitable for a gluten free diet. Foods such as pasta, spaghetti, lasagne, noodles, breads, biscuits or cakes would not be suitable if made from wheat, rye, oat or barley flour. It is important to note that some wheat starches may contain a significant amount of protein and, if so, these would not be suitable for a gluten free diet.
"Gluten Free" foods must have a gluten content less than 20 mg/kg. Foods stated as "Very Low Gluten" must have a gluten content of less than 100 mg/kg. The statement must appear in proximity to the name under which the food is sold (EC No 41/2009).
MILK FREE:
The recipe should not contain milk, cream, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, milk protein (casein, whey), lactose or other ingredient derived from milk.
EGG FREE:
The recipe should not contain egg, egg white, egg yolk or lecithin derived from egg. Sauces such as mayonnaise, salad cream and other salad dressings are usually made with egg and would therefore not be suitable for an egg free diet. Remember also that foods such as pasta, spaghetti, lasagne and noodles may sometimes be made using egg.
SOYA FREE:
The recipe should not contain soya flour, soya milk, soya protein, lecithin derived from soya, soya oil or any other soya-containing ingredient.
WHEAT FREE:
The recipe should not contain wheat flour, wheat starch, bread/breadcrumbs, pasta or any other
wheat-containing ingredient.
VEGETARIAN:
The recipe should not contain meat, fish, or any ingredient derived from meat or fish. For example, cheese, whey or casein made using ordinary rennet would not be suitable for vegetarians. Foods containing animal fats such as lard, dripping or suet and foods containing gelatine would not be suitable for vegetarians.
VEGAN:
The recipe should not contain any animal product, e.g. meat, fish, egg, cheese, milk or ingredients derived from these foods.
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 41/2009 concerning the composition and labelling of foodstuffs suitable for people intolerant to gluten
