Allergen labelling software for restaurants and catering: 10 criteria for choosing

Last updated: 12 November 2026 · Catering Cat editorial team

Good allergen labelling software derives a dish's allergens from its ingredients, has a responsible person review them, flags affected dishes when recipes change and prints clear cards and overviews from them – with traceable records. The following 10 criteria help you choose, whichever product you decide on.

The 10 most important criteria

Criterion	Why it matters	How Catering Cat handles it
All 14 major allergens	Required under Annex II – including cereal and nut types	All 14 groups, with cereal and nut types
Allergens from ingredients	Stocks, sauces and dressings bring hidden allergens	Create ingredients with allergens; dishes get suggestions
Review and approval	A person must confirm what gets printed	Approval only by owners or administrators
Recipe changes	New suppliers bring new allergens	Affected dishes must be reviewed again
No false sense of safety	Missing data must never count as “allergen-free”	Unreviewed data is never treated as allergen-free
Printing buffet cards	Guests need the information right at the dish	Fold-over cards, 4 per A4, single-sided, with cut lines
Allergen overview	Service staff need a quick overview	PDF table of all dishes with the 14 allergens
Records	Proof of what was printed when	Every print job stores immutable copies
Team and roles	Not everyone should approve allergens	Roles: owner, administrator, editor, viewer
Price and getting started	Try without risk, costs that fit your size	Up to 10 dishes free, Starter €39, Pro €99 per month

Typical warning signs

Allergens are only ticked by hand per dish, with no link to ingredients.
There is no review status – whatever is entered gets printed right away.
Empty allergen fields appear on the card as “allergen-free” or “no allergens”.
The provider promises “legally compliant” or “certified” labelling – responsibility always stays with the business.

Where Catering Cat has limits

Catering Cat specialises in buffet cards, allergen labelling and menus. It does not offer inventory management, costing, nutrition calculation or POS integration. Additives are entered by the business; they are not derived automatically. Catering Cat is not legal advice and not a certified compliance solution.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need software for allergen labelling?

Not by law. But as soon as dishes repeat, recipes change or several people create cards, software with an ingredient and allergen database reduces errors and saves time.

Can software detect allergens automatically?

It can derive allergens from stored ingredients and make suggestions. Whether the information is correct must always be checked by a responsible person – e.g. against supplier specifications.

How much does allergen software cost?

Prices range from free entry plans to solutions for chains. Catering Cat is free for up to 10 dishes; Starter costs €39 and Pro €99 per month.

More about these allergens

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Catering Cat supports the management of allergen information and does not replace a legal review.