Information › Guide › May contain traces
‘May contain traces of…’
Almost every chocolate bar and pack of biscuits carries the line ‘kan sporen bevatten van noten, pinda, melk’. It is not an ingredient: it is the manufacturer saying the product was made on a line or in a factory that also handles those allergens. What is actually in it ranges from nothing to a stray piece of nut.
What ‘may contain traces’ does and does not say
- The warning is voluntary. A product without it is therefore not automatically free of traces.
- There is no legal threshold. Some manufacturers warn at the smallest risk, others only when it is real.
- For people with a severe allergy (peanut, nuts, sesame) the warning is a reason to leave the product; with a mild allergy or intolerance usually not. That is a conversation with your doctor.
- This site shows the warning as a dashed ring at the product. The option ‘Also hide “may contain traces of”’ treats the warning as an ingredient and hides the product.
How to handle a traces warning
- With nuts and peanut the risk of traces is greatest: it is often about pieces, not dust.
- With gluten the standard is very strict (20 mg/kg); a trace warning for gluten weighs heavily with coeliac disease.
- Brands with their own allergen-free range are often the safest choice.
What this site does and does not do
We read the ingredient list and the allergen declaration as the supermarket publishes them, and hide every product that contains the allergen. Products without allergen information are hidden by default too: unknown is not the same as safe. What we cannot do is read the pack in the shop. Recipes change, and the information here can lag behind. When in doubt the label in your hand decides, and for questions about your health your doctor or dietitian.
More guides
Per allergen — milk, gluten, nuts, peanut and the rest.
Something not right? Tell us