Allergen
Celery (including celeriac) on UK food labels
Celery (including celeriac) is one of the 14 allergens that must be declared when it is an ingredient of PPDS food. On the label, emphasise it every time it appears in the ingredients list — and use the wording customers and inspectors recognise.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
How to name it on the label
Official wording: Celery (including celeriac). On the pack, use: Celery.
Watch for
The commonest hiding place is a stock cube.Where it hides
- Stock cubes and bouillon
- Soups, casseroles and mirepoix bases
- Celery salt in spice blends
- Some sausages and pre-made stuffings
Traps
The kitchen trap
The commonest hiding place is a stock cube.
Compound ingredients
If celery (including celeriac) arrives inside chocolate, sauce, stock or a mix, break that compound ingredient out so the allergen still appears in the list.
How to label it
- Confirm whether celery (including celeriac) is an intentional ingredient (including inside mixes).
- Use the label name: Celery.
- Emphasise it every time it appears — bold or capitals survive thermal printers.
- Do not replace the ingredients list with a symbol or a separate allergen box alone.
Questions
Do I declare celery (including celeriac) if it is only a trace?
Is a symbol enough for celery (including celeriac)?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food labelling: giving food information to consumersGOV.UK
Also see: The 14 allergens · Allergen label generator · How to emphasise allergens · Mustard