Menu Labelling: Mandatory or Voluntary

A menu is in law three documents at once: a price list, a carrier of allergen information, and a commercial offer with dish descriptions. Each has a different provision and a different authority that may check it. It is easy to focus on allergens and miss that a menu without portion weights is a defective price list.

Menu labelling divides into mandatory (price with portion weight, allergens, alcohol content) and voluntary (pictograms, calories, "veggie", "spicy"). Voluntary labels are free only until they start to mislead the customer.

The key points in brief

• A foodservice price list has its own provision. Under § 9 of the regulation on displaying prices, it must contain the full name of the dish and the quantity to which the price relates.

• Allergens are mandatory also for non-prepacked dishes (Art. 44 of Regulation 1169/2011). Details are in a separate guide to allergens in the menu.

• Alcohol content for drinks above 1.2% vol. follows from § 19(1)(3a) of the regulation of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MRiRW), except for drinks prepared at the customer's request.

• Calories, pictograms and slogans are voluntary, but they must meet Art. 7 and Art. 36(2) of Regulation 1169/2011: they must not mislead.

• Two authorities check this: the Trade Inspection checks prices, and the sanitary inspection checks food information.

Table: what is an obligation and what is a choice

Labelling	Status	Legal basis
Full name of the dish and price	mandatory	§ 9(1) and (2) of the regulation of the Ministry of Development and Technology (MRiT) of 19.12.2022 on displaying prices
Quantity (portion weight or volume) to which the price relates	mandatory	§ 9(2) of that regulation
Allergens from Annex II	mandatory	Art. 44(1)(a) of Regulation 1169/2011; § 19(2) of the MRiRW regulation (form)
Alcohol content of drinks above 1.2% vol.	mandatory, except for drinks prepared on request	§ 19(1)(3a) and (1b) of the MRiRW regulation
List of ingredients	listed in § 19(1)(3); the scope for dishes is assessed by the sanitary station	§ 19(1)(3) and (1a) of the MRiRW regulation
Calories and nutrition value	voluntary	Art. 44(1)(b) of Regulation 1169/2011; Art. 36
Pictograms (veggie, spicy, gluten free)	voluntary	Art. 36(2), Art. 37 of Regulation 1169/2011

The price list: the most often overlooked obligation

Art. 4(1) of the Act on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services requires the price to be displayed at the place of retail sale and provision of services in a clear and unambiguous way. For foodservice, the implementing regulation goes further. Under § 9, a business providing foodservice services:

• displays the prices of dishes, products and drinks in a price list,

• gives in the price list current information that lets the price be associated with the dish, in particular the full name of the dish under which it is sold, and the quantity to which the price relates,

• ensures a sufficient number of price lists and makes them available before an order is accepted,

• displays price lists in a publicly accessible place inside or outside the venue.

In practice this means that an entry such as "Kebab PLN 25" is defective if it is not clear whether it is a portion in pitta of 250 g or 400 g. "Large portion" alone does not state a quantity. Portion weight is given in grams or millilitres, and for drinks in volume. If the menu changes after a certain hour, the price list must change too.

For failing to meet the obligations under Art. 4, the Voivodeship Inspector of the Trade Inspection imposes by decision a fine of up to PLN 20,000, and with at least three breaches within 12 months up to PLN 40,000 (Art. 6(1) and (2)). This is a different institution than Sanepid (the State Sanitary Inspection), so the inspections do not have to coincide.

Allergens: only a reminder, because the topic has separate articles

Art. 44(1)(a) of Regulation 1169/2011 makes it mandatory to give allergen information also for food offered without packaging. How to do this in the menu is explained in the guide to allergens in the menu, and the list of 14 substances with examples is in the article 14 allergens with examples of dishes. If you also sell with delivery, you need the same information for a remote order, which we write about in the article on allergens in delivery.

Pictograms are permitted as a supplement. Art. 9(2) of Regulation 1169/2011 says that mandatory particulars are expressed in words and numbers, and may in addition be expressed through pictograms or symbols. An icon alone without a legend therefore does not meet the requirement. Add an explanation of the symbols on the same page of the menu.

Alcoholic drinks: percentages on the menu

Since the 2024 amendment to the MRiRW regulation (Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2024, item 217, in force from 20 August 2024), § 19(1)(3a) requires the actual alcohol content to be given for non-prepacked drinks, in line with Art. 28 of Regulation 1169/2011. Para. 1b excludes this requirement for drinks with alcohol content above 1.2% vol. prepared on the sales premises at the consumer's request, that is, typically cocktails prepared at the bar. It follows directly from the provision, then, that draught beer or wine by the glass, which are not "prepared", remain covered by the obligation. We found no official interpretation for venues, so for drinks menus it is safer to give percentages. We discuss the rules on permits in the article on the permit to sell alcohol.

Ingredients, dish name and the "do not mislead" rule

§ 19(1)(3) of the MRiRW regulation lists the list of ingredients among the information for non-prepacked food. How to apply this provision to restaurant dishes is a matter of interpretation, and the authorities do not always say the same thing. One of the poviat stations states in a communication that a restaurateur is to give the full composition with allergens specified. If you are not sure, ask your own sanitary station before you print a new menu.

Irrespective of this, the general rule of Art. 7 of Regulation 1169/2011 applies: food information must not mislead as to composition, nature and methods of production. Art. 7(1)(d) names a specific case: suggesting by appearance, description or graphic presentation that a particular food or ingredient is present, even though a naturally present or normally used component has been replaced by a different one. In a menu these are, for example:

• a "butter sauce" made from margarine,

• "sirloin" from a different cut,

• "fresh" on dishes made from semi-finished products,

• "homemade" on products bought ready-made.

The provision does not say that a substitute is prohibited. It says that the name and description must not suggest something else.

Voluntary labelling: freedom up to a limit

Art. 36(2) of Regulation 1169/2011 sets three conditions for information given voluntarily: it must not mislead the consumer, it must not be ambiguous or confusing, and where appropriate it must be based on scientific data. Art. 37 adds that it must not be displayed at the expense of the space available for mandatory information. A menu in which allergens are in small print beneath a large "FIT" heading may breach this provision.

Gluten free

For information on the absence of gluten, Implementing Regulation 828/2014 permits only specified wording. "Gluten-free" may be used only where the food as sold to the consumer contains no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten, and "very low gluten" where it does not exceed 100 mg/kg and concerns food containing specially processed ingredients. The regulation does not exclude foodservice from its scope. A "gluten free" label on a dish from a kitchen that works with wheat flour is therefore a risk. More in: "gluten free" and "vegan" in the menu.

Veggie and vegan

Art. 36(3)(b) obliges the Commission to adopt an implementing act on information on the suitability of food for vegetarians and vegans. In the texts we checked (Regulation 1169/2011 in the consolidated version and Regulation 828/2014), we found no definition of these terms. We did not confirm in the primary source whether such an act was issued later, so check EUR-Lex before you base a decision on this. Until a definition exists, liability is decided by Art. 7: a "vegan" label on a dish with honey, gelatine or fish sauce is misleading.

Calories

Art. 44(1)(b) says that giving the particulars from Art. 9 and 10 other than allergens is not mandatory for non-prepacked food, unless a Member State introduces such a requirement. In the MRiRW regulation we found no obligation to give nutrition values for dishes in foodservice. If you voluntarily give calories, the figures must be backed by the recipe and the portion weight. A value of "about 450 kcal" for a dish whose portion varies from shift to shift is in practice a risk under Art. 7.

"May contain traces"

Art. 36(3)(a) provides for implementing acts on information on the possible and unintentional presence of allergens. We found no rule in the text of the regulation on when such a statement may be used. It is voluntary information and must meet Art. 36(2). In practice it cannot replace control of cross-contact. We write more about this in the article on allergen cross-contact.

Menu language

Art. 15(1) of Regulation 1169/2011 requires mandatory information to be given in a language easily understood by consumers of the country in which the food is placed on the market. Para. 3 allows it to be given in several languages. In a venue visited by tourists, add an English column for allergens and dish names. We write about a multilingual team in the article on allergen training for the team.

A menu that will pass inspection: a checklist

• Every item has a full name, a price and a quantity (g or ml).

• Price lists are available in the venue before ordering, and outside the venue if that is where you display them.

• Allergens by each item, or in an allergen card indicated in the menu, with a legend of symbols.

• Alcoholic drinks above 1.2% with alcohol content (except cocktails prepared on request).

• Dish descriptions consistent with the recipe: no "homemade", "fresh" or "butter" if that is not true.

• "Gluten free" and "vegan" claims only where the kitchen has a process that confirms them.

• The menu update date and the person responsible for changes, the same as for the allergen documentation.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to give portion weight in the menu?

Yes. § 9(2) of the regulation on displaying prices requires a foodservice price list to state the quantity of the dish or product to which the price relates. This also applies to drinks.

Do I have to give calories?

No. For non-prepacked food the obligation concerns allergens, and nutrition value is voluntary information, unless a Member State has introduced a requirement (Art. 44(1)(b) of Regulation 1169/2011). In the MRiRW regulation we found no such requirement for dishes. If you give calories, they must be reliable.

Can I write "vegan" in the menu?

You may, but you are responsible for the description matching the dish under Art. 7 of Regulation 1169/2011. In the provisions we checked there is no legal definition of vegan, so check every ingredient and addition, including sauces and bread.

Do I have to give percentages in the alcohol menu?

Such an obligation follows from § 19(1)(3a) of the MRiRW regulation for non-prepacked drinks, except for drinks above 1.2% vol. prepared at the customer's request (para. 1b).

Who checks the menu: Sanepid or the Trade Inspection?

Both authorities, each within its own scope. The price with portion weight is checked by the Trade Inspection, and food information, including allergens, by the sanitary inspection. Penalties are imposed by separate decisions.

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Legal status as of: 4 October 2026
Legal basis: Act of 9 May 2014 on Informing about Prices of Goods and Services (consolidated text, Journal of Laws (Dz.U.) 2023, item 168; Art. 4(1), Art. 6); Regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology of 19 December 2022 on displaying prices of goods and services (Dz.U. 2022, item 2776, § 9); Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (Art. 7, 9(2), 15, 36, 37, 44); Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014; Regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of 23 December 2014 on the labelling of particular types of foodstuffs (Dz.U. 2015, item 29, as amended, § 19). We did not confirm in the primary source whether the Commission adopted the implementing act under Art. 36(3) concerning vegetarians and vegans and "may contain".
Last review: 4 October 2026