Guide
Allergens in tofu
Tofu is soya. Silken, firm and smoked tofu are all soya beans. Marinades add extra allergens: soy sauce usually adds wheat, and some smoked tofu coatings contain wheat or barley.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The usual pattern
Plain tofu is soya beans, water and a coagulant such as nigari. The coagulant is not an Annex II allergen. The flavour you add afterwards is where wheat, sesame or crustaceans sneak in.
What to check in tofu
| What you see | What it means on a PPDS label |
|---|---|
| Soya beans | Soya |
| Soy-sauce marinade | Soya again, plus usually wheat |
| Sesame crust | Sesame |
| Egg-based tofu alternatives | May be egg instead — different product |
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
Soya beans, water, nigari.
Where it shows up
Vegan trays, salads, bao, curries and breakfast muffins.
Calling soya milk and tofu the same line
Both are soya. Emphasise soya in each ingredient where it appears, not once for the whole recipe.
Tempeh is also soya, but it is a different ingredient. Some tempehs include barley or rice.
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 tofu dairy?
Does smoked tofu contain gluten?
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