Guide
Allergens in hoisin sauce
Hoisin sauce contains soya and usually wheat. Sesame is common. A duck wrap or bao packed with hoisin has to emphasise those allergens even when the filling itself is plain meat.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The usual pattern
Hoisin is fermented soya beans, wheat flour, sugar, vinegar and often sesame. Brands vary. Plum sauce is not hoisin and usually has a shorter allergen list, sometimes none of the 14.
What to check in hoisin sauce
| What you see | What it means on a PPDS label |
|---|---|
| Fermented soya | Soya |
| Wheat flour | Cereals containing gluten |
| Sesame paste or oil | Sesame |
| Some brands | Also barley |
How to write it on the label
PPDS food needs the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with the 14 allergens emphasised every time they appear. The Food Standards Agency’s PPDS guidance is the practical reference. A typical ingredients fragment looks like this — yours must follow the specification of the product you actually use.
Example fragment
Sugar, water, fermented soya beans, wheat flour, sesame, vinegar, garlic.
Where it shows up
Duck wraps, bao, marinades and rice bowls.
Sauce in the wrap, not on the label
If the wrap is spread before it is packed, the sauce ingredients belong in the wrap’s ingredients list.
A gluten-free hoisin exists in some ranges. Ordinary hoisin is not that product.
Specification first
Brands differ. Treat this page as the usual pattern, then match the label to the tub, bag or recipe in front of you.
Questions
Does hoisin contain gluten?
Does hoisin contain sesame?
Official sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.
- Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
- Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK