If you or someone you cook for has a food allergy you need to be careful when buying food.  It is really important you look at the label on any pre-packaged food to check the ingredients.  Even if you have bought the item before you should still check the label incase the recipe has changed.

A lot of food items have allergy statements or an advice box.  It may state things like 'Contains milk' or 'Wheat Free'.  At the moment there isn't a law that says food labels need to state this so you should still always check the ingredients list to be safe. 

Many of the supermarket chains have product lists that include all products that do not contain certain foods (milk, eggs, nuts, gluten).  You should contact the supermarket for more information.  However you should always check that the list is up-to-date and a recipe hasn't changed since the list was compiled. 

Supermarkets also sell some products that don't contain certain foods such as wheat, dairy or gluten.  Health food shops are also a good place for buying special ranges of food. 

If you are buying food that is not already packaged such as from a bakery or deli counter always ask about the ingredients and how the food has been prepared.  It may be the food doesn't contain a certain product but has been contaminated. 

You can find out more about food allergies from Allergy UK website.