of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK32) may initiate proceedings against misleading advertising of food products under both the NHCR and the Act on Counteracting Unfair Market Practices33. Moreover, such practices may also be deemed violations of the Directive if they mislead consumers or distort their economic behaviour. An important practical issue related to allergen communication in restaurants is the risk of cross-contact—the unintended presence of trace amounts of allergens in foods that are not supposed to contain them. Although EU law does not require precautionary allergen labelling such as “may contain traces of...” for non-prepacked foods, as it does for prepacked products, restaurant operators are nonetheless obliged to manage this risk under hygiene and HACCP procedures. This includes appropriate kitchen organisation, preventing shared equipment or surfaces, staff training, and maintaining ingredient traceability34. The 2022 EU Commission Notice35 further clarifies that allergens must be treated as distinct hazards within a food safety management system. Preventive controls—such as dedicated equipment, thorough cleaning, risk assessment, and validated cleaning—should be documented as part of the prerequisite programmes (PRPs36). CONCLUSION EU law provides a robust and multi-layered framework for consumer protection in the restaurant sector, integrating binding legal norms, interpretative instruments, and case-law developments. This framework operates across several regulatory dimensions: general consumer protection rules secure fair treatment in relation to pricing, contractual transparency, and commercial practices, while sector-specific food law ensures that meals served out-of-home are safe, hygienic, and accompanied by accurate and accessible information. 32 https://uokik.gov.pl/en. 33 Ustawa z dnia 23 sierpnia 2007 r. o przeciwdziałaniu nieuczciwym praktykom rynkowym (Dz. U. z 2023 r. poz. 845), Polish law implementing Directive 2005/29/EC (https://sip.lex.pl/akty-prawne/dzu-dziennik-ustaw/ przeciwdzialanie-nieuczciwym-praktykom-rynkowym-17379633). 34 https://www.efanet.org/prevent/food-labelling (access: 1.05.2025). 35 Commission Notice on the implementation of food safety management systems covering Good Hygiene Practices and procedures based on the HACCP principles, including the facilitation/flexibility of the implementation in certain food businesses 2022/C 355/01 (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ TXT/?qid=1751360690705&uri=CELEX%3A52022XC0916%2801%29). 36 D. Dongo, J. Petrollini, Food safety management systems, EC guidelines 2022, https://www.foodtimes.eu/ food-system/food-safety-management-systems-ec-guidelines-2022/ (access: 1.05.2025). 552 KAROLINA PRUCHNIEWICZ
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