Guide
Allergens in tahini
Tahini is sesame. Sesame is one of the 14 allergens and must be emphasised wherever tahini, sesame paste or sesame seeds are used, including inside hummus.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The usual pattern
Tahini is hulled sesame seeds ground to a paste. It is not a nut butter. Some brands are 100% sesame; others add oil or salt. The allergen does not change.
What to check in tahini
| What you see | What it means on a PPDS label |
|---|---|
| Sesame seeds | Sesame |
| Hummus made with tahini | Sesame, even if the pot just says hummus |
| Halva | Sesame |
| Some dressings | Tahini plus soya or mustard |
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
Sesame seeds.
Where it shows up
Hummus, baba ganoush, salad dressings, cookies and Middle Eastern sauces.
Hummus described as chickpeas only
If your hummus contains tahini, the label that only lists chickpeas, lemon and garlic is missing sesame.
Toasted sesame oil is also sesame. A few drops in a dressing are still an ingredient.
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 tahini a nut?
Do I declare tahini if I drizzle it on the side?
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