Guide
Allergens in satay sauce
Satay sauce contains peanuts. Many bought sauces also contain soya and sometimes shrimp paste, which is crustaceans. Emphasise peanut by that name. Do not file it under tree nuts.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The usual pattern
A kitchen satay is peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce and lime. Coconut milk is not a tree nut and is not milk. Soy sauce adds soya and usually wheat. Shrimp paste, if used, adds crustaceans.
What to check in satay sauce
| What you see | What it means on a PPDS label |
|---|---|
| Peanut butter | Peanuts |
| Soy sauce | Soya, usually wheat |
| Shrimp paste | Crustaceans |
| Coconut milk | Not milk, and coconut is not a named tree nut |
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
Peanuts, coconut milk, soy sauce (soya, wheat), sugar, lime juice.
Where it shows up
Chicken skewers, noodle boxes, dipping pots and some salads.
A peanut-free almond satay
Replacing peanuts with almonds removes peanut and adds a tree nut. It needs its own label. It is not a safer version of the same sauce.
A factory satay can contain both peanuts and tree nuts. Do not assume it is peanuts only.
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
Is coconut milk a nut or a dairy milk?
Do I declare shrimp paste?
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