How do I cook safely for someone with a food allergy?

Allergy is different from intolerance or preference. For a severe allergy, a trace of the food can cause a life-threatening reaction, so the standard is not 'not much' but 'none at all'. That changes how you plan, shop and cook.

Safety

What you'll need

• Clean equipment
• Ingredient labels
• Separate chopping board (optional)

Step by step

1. Ask directly and specifically.What exactly must be avoided, how severe is it, and does contact or airborne exposure matter? People with allergies are used to this question and would rather you asked.
2. Ask whether traces matter.This determines everything. A severe allergy means separate equipment and surfaces; an intolerance usually does not.
3. Plan a menu that simply does not contain it.Far safer than trying to prepare two versions. Cooking one meal everyone can eat removes almost all the risk.
4. Read every label, every time.Recipes and manufacturers change. Allergens are usually highlighted in ingredient lists, and 'may contain' warnings mean a genuine contamination risk.
5. Prepare the allergy-safe food first.On clean surfaces with clean equipment, before anything containing the allergen is opened. Then cover it and set it aside.
6. Use separate equipment and cooking oil.Boards, knives, utensils, colanders, toasters and frying oil all carry traces. Shared oil is a commonly overlooked route.
7. Wash hands and surfaces thoroughly between tasks.Soap and water. Hand sanitiser does not remove food proteins — this is a common and important misunderstanding.
8. Tell them exactly what is in each dish.Do not present a dish as safe without saying what is in it. Let them make their own final judgement, which they are far better placed to do.

Tips

• Keep the packaging of anything you used until the meal is over. If a reaction happens, the ingredient list matters immediately.
• Ask where their adrenaline auto-injector is and whether anyone present knows how to use it. It is not an awkward question in that context.
• If you are unsure whether something is safe, say so rather than guessing. Nobody is offended by caution.

Common mistakes

• Assuming a small amount is fine — Severe allergies react to traces. There is no safe small amount, and this misunderstanding causes many accidental reactions.
• Using the same oil, board or utensils — Proteins transfer readily. Shared frying oil and a shared chopping board are among the most common contamination routes.
• Using hand sanitiser instead of washing hands — Sanitiser kills bacteria but does not remove food proteins. Only soap and water does.

Questions people ask