Guide
How to label breadcrumbs and coatings
Breadcrumbs usually mean wheat — emphasise the grain. Coatings can also bring milk, egg or sesame. On PPDS fried or baked goods, declare the coating as used.
Reviewed against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.
The short answer
Breadcrumbs usually mean wheat — emphasise the grain. Coatings can also bring milk, egg or sesame. On PPDS fried or baked goods, declare the coating as used.
Emphasise Annex II allergens inside the ingredients list — bold, capitals, colour or underline — as set out in FSA allergen labelling guidance.
How to apply it
Breadcrumbs usually mean wheat — emphasise the grain. Coatings can also bring milk, egg or sesame. On PPDS fried or baked goods, declare the coating as used. Emphasise Annex II allergens inside the ingredients list — bold, capitals, colour or underline — as set out in FSA allergen labelling guidance. Walk the product in front of you against the checklist below before you print. The mistake to refuse is: Customers need the coating ingredients.
- Emphasise wheat in breadcrumbs
- Check milk powders in crumb mixes
- Declare batters separately from crumbs
- Gluten-free crumbs have their own profile
Worked example
Worked example for “How to label breadcrumbs and coatings”: take one real SKU you sell this week. Apply the first check — emphasise wheat in breadcrumbs. Then contrast it with check milk powders in crumb mixes. Write the name of the food and the full ingredients list from today’s recipe and supplier specs, emphasise every Annex II allergen each time it appears, and only then print. If the pack in your hand does not match that list, it is not ready for sale. (Breadcrumbs usually mean wheat — emphasise the grain.)
Checklist before you print
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Emphasise wheat in breadcrumbs | For “How to label breadcrumbs and coatings”, “Emphasise wheat in breadcrumbs” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Check milk powders in crumb mixes | For “How to label breadcrumbs and coatings”, “Check milk powders in crumb mixes” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Declare batters separately from crumbs | For “How to label breadcrumbs and coatings”, “Declare batters separately from crumbs” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
| Gluten-free crumbs have their own profile | For “How to label breadcrumbs and coatings”, “Gluten-free crumbs have their own profile” is the check that stops the pack drifting from what you actually sell. |
Writing only “coated chicken”
Customers need the coating ingredients.
Go deeper
Next: Allergens in breadcrumbs. Wheat and mix-ins. Then paste your ingredients into the free generator and confirm allergens before you print.
Questions
Are panko breadcrumbs different?
What about cornflake coatings?
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
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