At Asda we know that our customers want to be fully informed about what’s in the food they buy so that they can make the best choices for their specific dietary needs. We work hard to make sure we provide accurate and clear information to our customers, as well as creating great tasting products that can be enjoyed by people with a range of dietary needs.

As a responsible retailer we have a legal obligation to provide clear and accurate information to our customers about the ingredients in our products. But for us, it’s not just about being legally ‘compliant’, it’s about doing the right thing for our customers.

With that in mind we are always striving to find new and better ways to ensure the 18 million customers that shop with us each week are suitably informed about what ingredients are in what they’re buying.

This is especially true when it comes to the advice we provide around the potential for allergens in our products, and supporting customers with specific dietary needs.

We already have a number of well-established measures in place to provide the support and information, including on pack labelling and information online - but we want to do more.

When it comes to our in-store bakeries, we recognise that there is a greater potential for allergen contamination and it can be hard for customers with specific allergies to make a decision about whether or not a product is safe for them.

Our bakeries already feature clear signage to inform of the potential for allergens, whilst our bakery products are also labelled to warn of the potential presence of nuts, seeds and other allergens.

But we want to go further and so have committed to adding more detailed allergen labels on our in-store bakery products and are also improving the depth of allergen information on our website.

Due to the nature of an in store bakery environment, we will always advise customers that there is a risk of cross contamination with allergens, but we want to provide as much detailed information on allergens as we can, so that customers can make an informed choice. Our colleagues receive training to help them advise on allergens, but if they are in any doubt will always advise not to purchase a product – for us, customer safety is our top priority.

As well as providing information on our products, we’re also committed to ensuring customers with a wide range of dietary needs can enjoy great tasting Asda products. Earlier this year we expanded our free from range to include over 100 new products.

We have also worked with a panel of expert influencers to understand more about living with allergies and intolerances, and launched our ‘Inclusivity: Feeding All the Family’ guide earlier this year to help educate parents about food allergies and intolerances to prevent social exclusion and show catering for dietary needs doesn’t need to be scary.

For more information about the guide please click on this and if you do feel as though you would like further information on products in ingredients our customer service helpline number is: 0800 952 0101.