--- title: Allergens on homemade cake: must I list them? | NFCeez url: https://nfceez.de/en/blog/allergens-on-homemade-cake/ language: en description: Do you have to list allergens on homemade cake? In Germany, yes, even in a small café. The permitted ways, when spoken is enough, and a template. --- # Do I have to list allergens on homemade cake? Yes. Homemade and small don't change that. The good news is that a note at the counter is often enough. [Menus](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/topic/menus/) 2 min read Updated 2 November 2026 NFCeez editorial team The short answer Yes, a café in Germany has to give allergen information on homemade cake, because the duty covers loose food sold at a counter or served in a restaurant. A sign, the menu, a notice or electronic information are all allowed. Spoken information only works with a written record and a visible notice in the café. As of November 2026. This answer covers Germany, where a national ordinance sets out how EU allergen rules apply to loose food. ## Is there an exception for small cafés? The German food ministry says in its [overview](https://www.bmleh.de/DE/themen/ernaehrung/lebensmittel-kennzeichnung/pflichtangaben/allergenkennzeichnung.html), with no mention of business size, that allergen information is mandatory for loose food, including at a counter and in a restaurant. We found no exception for homemade food or low turnover. It matters for cake in particular, where several major allergens often come together: gluten, egg, milk, nuts. ## Which ways are allowed? [Section 4 of the LMIDV ordinance](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/lmidv/__4.html) gives you a choice. Pick the one you can really keep up every day. Way What it takes Fits if Sign at the cake On or next to the food, clear and easy to read. Your display changes daily. Menu At the dish or as a footnote, clearly flagged at its name. The cake is a fixed menu item. Notice in the café Visible and readable before buying. You have a few recipes that never change. Electronic Direct and easy to reach, plus a note on how guests find it. Your menu is digital anyway. Spoken On request before buying, a written record for authorities and guests, and a visible notice in the café. Your team knows every recipe. Spoken sounds easiest but carries the most duties. You can't avoid paper with it either. As a record, the ministry mentions a notebook, an information sheet or a note on the recipe. ## How do you manage it with changing cakes? Template for your recipe book Name: apple cake. Contains: gluten (wheat), egg, milk. Date of last change, initials, supplier of ready-made ingredients. - One card per recipe. Whoever bakes checks it before the cake goes in the display. - If an ingredient changes, the card changes the same day. - If you buy cake in, the duty still applies. Get the allergens from your supplier in writing. The rule talks about ingredients and processing aids. Whether and how you mention traces is a separate question, so ask your local food authority (Lebensmittelüberwachung), especially if nuts are used in the same kitchen. And stay honest with guests who are truly allergic: if you don't know for sure, tell them. The full allergen list and more on menus are in our article on [allergens on the menu](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/allergens-on-the-menu/). ## Can you do it digitally when the cakes change every day? Yes, through the electronic route. In the NFCeez app you photograph your cake list with the rest of your menu. The AI suggests allergens from the ingredients, and when you publish you confirm them with your recipe book next to you. If a cake isn't there today, you mark it as unavailable without publishing again. Guests see the allergens right on the dish. The limit: your recipe book stays the written record, and you still need the notice in the café saying where the information is. More on the [digital menu](https://nfceez.de/en/features/digital-menu/). Your next step: take your three best-selling cakes today and make a card for each one. [ How NFCeez does this Allergens on your cakes, confirmed by you. The AI suggests allergens from the ingredients, and you confirm them when you publish. Whatever isn't in the display today, you mark as unavailable. See how it works ](https://nfceez.de/en/features/digital-menu/) Sources - [§ 4 LMIDV, Art und Weise der Kennzeichnung](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/lmidv/__4.html) - [BMLEH: Allergenkennzeichnung](https://www.bmleh.de/DE/themen/ernaehrung/lebensmittel-kennzeichnung/pflichtangaben/allergenkennzeichnung.html) ## Questions about allergens on cake Only with a written record and a visible notice that information is given verbally. Knowledge in someone's head isn't enough. That's a separate rule. It's covered in our article on what must be on a menu in Germany. Yes, if you sell it loose. Your source is the information from your supplier. Yes, Section 4 LMIDV allows electronic information if it's directly accessible and a note says where guests can find it. ## Keep reading. [All articles](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/) [ ### How do you label allergens on a menu in Germany? Which 14 allergens count, which routes the law allows, and how to finish your list in one afternoon. German law, with the EU list behind it. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/allergens-on-the-menu/) [ ### What must be on a restaurant menu in Germany? Every required item for hospitality businesses in Germany in one place: prices, additives, drinks and the VAT rates since 2026. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/what-must-be-on-a-menu-in-germany/) [ ### How do you create a digital menu for your café or restaurant? A PDF on a phone is a start, not a good digital menu. Here is how to get from a printed menu to one that works at the table and is right today. - ](https://nfceez.de/en/blog/how-to-create-a-digital-menu/)