Why is celery missed so often?

Because celery usually turns up as a hidden seasoning — in vegetable stock, stock cubes, soup seasoning, spice blends, ketchup, ready-made sauces and sausage. It is barely visible as a vegetable, but it still has to be declared.

Do celery salt and stalk celery count as the allergen too?

Yes. Every form is covered — celeriac, stalk celery, leaf celery — as well as products such as celery salt and celery seasoning. There is no exception.

Are there any exceptions for celery?

No. Celery (Annex II no. 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011) and all products thereof must be declared, without exception.

Guide · Allergens

Celery — allergen no. 9 under the FIC Regulation

2 July 2026 · about 5 min read

Celery is the quiet heavyweight among the 14 allergens: you rarely see it as a vegetable, but as a seasoning it sits in a surprising number of products — from vegetable stock to sausage. That is exactly why it gets missed so often. Here is where celery hides and how to label it correctly.

What is the celery allergen?

Annex II of the FIC Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011) lists as number 9: “Celery and products thereof”. No exceptions are attached. Every form is covered: celeriac, stalk celery and leaf celery, and products such as celery salt and celery seasoning.

Where celery hides

Stocks & broths — vegetable stock, stock cubes, soup greens, instant soups.
Seasonings — soup seasoning, spice blends, celery salt, “vegetable juice concentrate”.
Sauces & convenience food — ketchup, ready-made sauces, dressings, packet meals.
Sausage & deli — many scalded and cooked sausages, deli salads, cold cuts.

Because celery so often serves only as a small flavouring, it is easily forgotten in practice — a common labelling error.

How to label celery correctly

In the list of ingredients on prepacked food, the ingredient has to be named (“celery”, “celery salt”, “celery seasoning”) and the Annex II name has to be emphasised. Article 21(1)(b) puts it like this: the name “shall be emphasised through a typeset that clearly distinguishes it from the rest of the list of ingredients, for example by means of the font, style or background colour”. In practice that is almost always bold type.

Watch compound ingredients in particular — stock, seasoning blends and sauces. That is where celery hides most often. For food sold without prepackaging, Article 44(1)(a) makes the allergen particulars mandatory, while Article 44(2) leaves it to each Member State to decide “the means through which the particulars … are to be made available”. In Germany that national measure is § 4 LMIDV; see allergen labelling in restaurants and how to write a menu.

This article is general information and does not replace legal advice. What counts is the wording of the regulation as it applies at the time (Annex II no. 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011). The English text of the Regulation is quoted from the consolidated version of 1 January 2018 on EUR-Lex.