What is free from food?
Free from is a catch-all term used to denote food and drink that has been designed to exclude one or more ingredients to which at least some consumers can have either an allergy or an intolerance.
What is an allergy?
An allergy is usually defined as a specific response by the immune system to a substance that it mistakenly believes to be harmful. The Food Standards Agency requires that the presence of 14 specific allergens is highlighted on product labels. These are:
- cereals containing gluten
- crustaceans
- molluscs
- fish
- eggs
- peanuts
- nuts (tree nuts)
- soya
- milk
- celery
- mustard
- sesame
- lupin
- sulphur dioxide (if above 10mg/kg, or 10 mg/litre)
What is an intolerance?
Some people suffer adverse reactions to substances – particularly foods – that have not sparked an immune system response. These responses are normally classed as intolerances or sensitivities and have a very wide range of causes, symptoms and degrees of severity. Some conditions, such as coeliac disease or phenylketonuria are caused by specific foods or food components, such as gluten or the amino acid phenylalanine respectively.
What are the most popular types of free from food and drink?
A survey of supermarkets and natural food retailers indicates that the most commercially significant sectors of the free from market are:
- Wheat free/gluten free (flours, cakes, biscuits, pasta, bread)
- Cow-dairy free (milk, yoghurt, butter, desserts, cheese)
- Nut free (cakes, biscuits, chocolates, sweets, sauces)
- Egg free (cakes, mayonnaise)
The buoyant vegan / plant-based and vegetarian sectors are clamouring to be included in free from but the interaction between these sectors is resulting in consumer confusion as shown in this blog .
What is the size of the market for free from food and drink?
In July 2026 The Grocer published recent research by Worldpanel for the 12 months to w/e 19th April 2026. The annual UK market for free from is now worth £4.6bn, with sales up 11.4% on a value basis. Volume growth was 6.6%. “Dairy” products grew by 6.2% to £1.3bn, fresh meat was +13.0% to £672m, savoury snacks were +17% to £499m, chilled convenience was +5.1% to £385m and ambient bakery was +9.7% to £286m.
In a sector where sales come largely through multiple retailers, Waitrose Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons all over-trade compared to their total market share. In comparison Marks & Spencer, Iceland, Aldi and Lidl all undertrade.
Free from manufacturers have suffered disproportionately from inflation. The average price per kilo for allergen free food has grown 5.7% over the year to April 2026 (Worldpanel). This compares to total grocery inflation of 3.8% over the same period. Gluten-free shoppers typically pay 25% more for their groceries than those without allergies, according to research carried out by the charity Coeliac UK in February 2025.
Another recent theme has been the response of the free from sector to public concern over the prevalence of Ultra Processed Foods (UPFs). Re-engineering free from foods to omit key structural components such as gluten has in the past necessitated using a wide variety of artificial additives. The free-from category is shifting its focus to offer less processed products with higher levels of nutrition. Josh Boydell-Smith, head of marketing for Bells of Lazenby said “the category has moved beyond niche dietary need and is increasingly aligned with broader consumer trends around health, wellness, lifestyle choice and ingredient awareness.”
Changes in Legislation
Under the EU regulations that came into effect in 2012, only foods that contain less than 20 parts of gluten in a million will be allowed to use the term ‘gluten free’ on their packaging. Previously, a food labelled ‘gluten free’ could have contained up to ten times more than this.
However no other free from category is regulated in this way. For example there is no specific regulation on what can be described as dairy free, meaning that different manufacturers and retailers are working to different regimes. Some dairy-free players are calling for the introduction of universally-accepted thresholds for allergens other than gluten.
The EU’s Food Information to Consumers regulation came into force in 2014. All eating-out establishments must be able to inform their customers as to whether any of the 14 major allergens are contained in their foods. This change was described as a “massive opportunity” for food service suppliers by Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, founder of the Free From Food Awards. However two recent deaths have been attributed to inadequate allergy labelling of food-to-go items. In October 2021 “Natasha’s Law” was introduced by the UK government, requiring the out-of-home sector to label their products with allergen information to the same degree of accuracy as required by the retail sector.
Please note that although the above was originally EU legislation the UK has continued to follow these laws post-Brexit.
For more information
In 2015, Free From guidelines were jointly issued by the British Retail Consortium and the Food and Drink Federation (FDF). Although voluntary, they provide a useful set of core principles which allow a Free From claim to be made on-pack.
In June 2019 the FDF published guidance on gluten free labelling
‘Natasha’s Law’ – legislation covering the sale of Prepacked For Direct Sale (PPDS) foods is here
Between December 2021 and March 2022 the FSA carried out a consultation on May Contain and similar terms – final report here