An allergens matrix is the one-page record that answers the customer's question and the inspector's check: the 14 allergens across the top, the dishes down the side, a mark where an allergen is present and a mark where cross-contact is possible, and a date. The Food Standards Agency's allergen guidance, cited below, says only the 14 allergens are required to be declared as allergens by food law: celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites at more than ten parts per million, and tree nuts. The allergen matrix on this site builds it from the menu and prints it, free and without an account; the paid product keeps each dated version.
Built from the recipes
Each dish's ingredients from the recipe, each ingredient's allergens from its label or the supplier's specification. The traceability record on this site holds the labels, so a supplier change is caught at the delivery and the matrix rebuilt.
Two marks
Present, from the recipe and the ingredient labels; may contain, from cross-contact in preparation or from a supplier's own statement. A customer's decision depends on which, and a matrix with one kind of mark hides the difference that matters most to them.
The date
The matrix is current on its date and stale the day a recipe or a supplier changes. It is rebuilt then and re-dated, and the old version is kept so the answer given to a customer on any date can be shown later, which is the question that arrives after a reaction.
In the plan
The allergen hazard's control, with separation on the bench and training. ProbeLedger Pro keeps the matrix versions with the HACCP plan and its records. FoodDocs lists its Lite plan at $99 per site per month billed monthly or $79 billed annually, and its Standard plan at $199 per site per month, with a free 14-day trial, on its pricing page cited below. ProbeLedger Pro is $49 per month for the whole site.
Questions people ask about allergens matrix
Is a matrix required by law?
Accurate allergen information must be available; the matrix is how a kitchen holds it.
How often should it be rebuilt?
At every recipe or supplier change, and reviewed with the menu.
Is the matrix free?
Yes, without an account.