The Top 14 Allergens, Explained in Plain English

If you've seen "free from the top 14 allergens" on our packaging and wondered what the 14 actually are, this one's for you.

Two lists, one idea

The US officially recognizes 9 major allergens that must be declared on labels: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soy, and sesame (sesame joined in 2023). The UK and EU go further with a list of 14, adding celery, mustard, lupin, molluscs, and sulphites, and splitting gluten-containing cereals into their own category.

When a brand formulates to the top 14 instead of just the Big 9, it's holding itself to the stricter international standard. That's the bar we chose.

The quick tour

Milk and eggs are the classic childhood allergies and hide in endless baked goods; milk in particular goes by six or seven names on a label. Peanuts and tree nuts are the ones most associated with severe reactions, and "tree nuts" covers almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, pistachios, and more. Fish, crustaceans, and molluscs matter more in sauces and Asian pantry staples than people expect (fish sauce, oyster sauce, Worcestershire). Wheat and gluten-containing cereals cover the celiac and wheat-allergic worlds. Soy is in a staggering share of processed food as soy lecithin and soybean oil. Sesame surged as an allergen as tahini and seeded everything took over menus. Celery and mustard sneak into spice blends, broths, and dressings. Lupin is a legume flour common in European baking. Sulphites are preservatives found in dried fruit and more.

Why "free from" formulation is hard

Anyone can leave peanuts out of a recipe. The hard part is everything upstream: sourcing ingredients that aren't processed alongside allergens, verifying suppliers, controlling the production environment. Cutting all 14 eliminates most of the standard baking toolkit. No butter, no eggs, no wheat flour, no nut flours, no soy lecithin. You have to rebuild the cookie from scratch, which is exactly what we did.

What it means for your cart

If you're managing one allergy, a top-14-free product means you don't have to memorize our supply chain. If you're feeding a classroom, a team, or a birthday party, it means one bag works for everyone without interrogating each kid's medical history.

As always, don't take the front of the bag's word for it. Ours or anyone's. Flip any of our packs over and read the statement. That's the CraveMe way.