The Hospitality Guide to Owen’s Law

What is Owen’s Law and why is it important? 

Owen's Law emerged following the tragic passing of Owen Carey, who experienced a severe allergic reaction after eating at a restaurant in London. Despite informing staff about his dairy allergy, Owen was served a chicken burger marinated in buttermilk— information that wasn't disclosed on the menu or by the staff. His death led to a campaign for stronger allergen labelling requirements in the hospitality sector. 

Owen's Law has not yet been passed, but the campaign has made significant progress. The law was proposed in April 2021 and debated in Parliament in May 2023. In late 2024, the FSA held a public consultation on the proposed changes. The findings and the next step towards new legislation are still in the works, however, we do have an idea of the proposed legislation. 

The proposed legislation aims to strengthen how food businesses communicate allergen information. The requirements include: 

Who will be affected by Owen’s Law? 

Owen's Law will impact all food service establishments, including: 

The challenges of managing allergen information in hospitality 

Running a successful hospitality business means adapting quickly to changing customer preferences and seasonal ingredients. When it comes to allergen management, this flexibility creates challenges that affect both operations and customer safety. 

Keeping up with menu changes 

Most restaurants frequently update their menus to accommodate seasonal ingredients, special promotions and changing customer preferences. Every menu change means reviewing and updating allergen information—a process that can quickly become overwhelming without the right systems. 

The challenge increases when working with multiple suppliers and ingredients. Supply chain changes and ingredient substitutions directly affect allergen profiles, making manual tracking nearly impossible to maintain accurately. Digital solutions like a procurement software and modern EPoS help automate this process, ensuring allergen information remains current across all menu items. 

Training staff on allergen safety 

The hospitality industry experiences some of the highest staff turnover rates across all sectors—an average of 37.6% of employees leave their jobs annually. With such high turnover, keeping allergen awareness and safety protocols consistent can be tough. New hires need thorough training before handling allergen-related enquiries, and existing staff benefit from regular refreshers to stay up to date. 

Beyond basic awareness, teams need the confidence to communicate about allergen risks with customers. This requires ongoing training support backed by reliable systems that make accessing and sharing allergen information straightforward.  

Risk of human error in allergen communication 

Relying on verbal communication for allergen information introduces major risks to food service operations. Staff members may forget details, misunderstand customer requests or fail to check with the kitchen about specific ingredients. These communication gaps can have serious consequences for customers with allergies. 

The inconsistency in verbal communications highlights the need for standardised allergen information systems.  

Owen's Law recognises this risk and pushes businesses toward clearer, documented allergen labelling. A recipe and menu engineering software is the key to making allergen tracking and updates simple and efficient. 

How hospitality businesses can prepare for Owen’s Law 

With Owen's Law setting new standards for allergen management, hospitality businesses need practical tools and processes. The right combination of technology, training and clear processes can help you not only comply with regulations but also provide a safer dining experience for your customers. 

Step 1 – Implement a digital allergen management system 

Keeping allergen details up to date can be challenging, especially with frequent menu changes and supplier updates. A digital allergen management system helps automate this process, ensuring accurate, real-time information across all menu items: 

With a recipe and menu engineering software, allergen data is updated directly from suppliers, eliminating the need for manual input. When an ingredient changes, the system instantly reflects the update across menus, keeping your information accurate at all times. 

Step 2 – Train staff with ongoing compliance support 

High staff turnover in hospitality makes it difficult to maintain consistent allergen training. A structured, ongoing learning programme ensures teams stay informed and confident when handling customer enquiries. It should: 

Your learning management system should provide flexible, online allergen training that works around busy service times. Managers should be able to track team progress in real time, ensuring every staff member has the knowledge to communicate allergen information accurately and safely. 

Step 3 – Improve allergen communication 

Verbal miscommunication and manual record-keeping create avoidable risks. Standardising allergen processes across all locations improves accuracy and customer safety. For this reason, an effective menu management system is your best support because it can: 

An allergen management system delivers these features through direct supplier integration and real-time updates. The system helps ensure allergen information stays consistent across all your customer-facing materials, minimising the risk of outdated details being displayed. 

The role of digital solutions in allergen compliance 

Running a busy kitchen while maintaining accurate allergen information can feel like an impossible balance. Digital technology helps bridge this gap, providing practical tools that make allergen management simpler and more reliable. Modern software solutions bring together automated tracking, staff training and compliance monitoring to create systems that work in real kitchen environments. 

Automating allergen management with technology 

Managing allergen information on paper or spreadsheets leaves too much room for error. When suppliers update their products or recipes change, keeping track of allergen details across multiple dishes quickly becomes unmanageable. With direct supplier integration, Access Procure Wizard provides a single, reliable source for allergen information. 

The system connects with your suppliers to maintain current allergen data across your menu items and recipes. As product information changes, these updates flow automatically through to your dish allergen matrices, removing the administrative burden of manual updates. Through real-time reporting, you can spot potential allergen compliance issues before they affect customer safety, while maintaining clear audit trails of all changes. 

Ensuring consistency across multi-site operations 

For hospitality businesses operating across multiple locations, maintaining consistent allergen protocols becomes particularly challenging. Each site needs access to the same up-to-date information, while managers need visibility of compliance across the entire operation. 

Procure Wizard's real-time reporting capabilities let businesses track allergen management across all their venues. Through API connections, allergen information stays consistent whether it's displayed on digital menus, websites or printed materials. This standardised approach helps reduce confusion and ensures customers receive reliable allergen information regardless of which location they visit. 

Training staff with e-learning for compliance