Menu dietary codes, and what each one means

The codes

The default set Hotelwright prints on buffet labels, in the exact words it uses in English and Spanish.

Two kinds of code sit side by side in that list. V, VG, GF, DF and H describe the dish. PN, TN and SE are warnings: they say the dish contains that allergen. Hotelwright puts both kinds on the same label, which is why a reader needs the key.

What V and VG mean

V is vegetarian and VG is vegan. Definitions vary a little by kitchen. One way to word them: vegetarian leaves out meat, fish and shellfish, and vegan leaves out all animal products, which includes milk and eggs. If your kitchen uses a stricter or looser meaning, say it in the key.

Why GF says "made without gluten-containing ingredients"

GF is the code that causes the most trouble, so Hotelwright spells it out. It reads "Made without gluten-containing ingredients". That describes the recipe, not the kitchen. A banquet kitchen that handles wheat all day cannot promise that a dish is free of it, so the label says what went into the dish, and the key sends guests to the banquet captain with questions. The code does not say "gluten-free", on purpose, because the kitchen does not certify that.

Free-from codes and Contains lines

A Contains line lists the major allergens in a dish, for example "Contains: fish, wheat". A code like DF describes the dish too. The two can disagree: a dish marked DF whose Contains line lists milk, or a dish marked GF whose Contains line lists wheat. Hotelwright checks for that on four codes (V, VG, DF and GF) and flags the dish so you can check with the kitchen; the label still prints as entered, and your team stays responsible for what is on it. Until someone confirms the event's allergens, the label says "Allergens not confirmed" instead of a Contains line.

Symbols or letters?

Icons are compact and quick to read, but they need a key too, and a symbol set no one has seen before slows a guest down. Letters survive black-and-white printing and a laser printer's worst day. Hotelwright uses letters for dietary codes by default, with the allergen written out in words.

Hotelwright lets a hotel show dietary codes as plain text, as a pill (a small outlined box), or as an icon. Allergen icons, when used, print beside the allergen word and never instead of it.

Always print the key

Whichever codes you use, print the key with the same letters. A guest who cannot decode PN or SE has no use for the label. The printable key carries the codes and the nine major US allergens in English and Spanish, with the exact wording Hotelwright prints.

Your own codes

Hotels disagree on codes, so yours are editable in Hotelwright. A code is one to three capital letters, and K and SP can be switched on. If you change a letter, change it in the key as well, so the key and the label never disagree. Spanish names for allergens and codes come from a fixed list, never machine translation.

Sources

• FDA: Food Allergies