Burger King Allergen Information
Burger King's website gives allergen and nutritional information
Feb 23, 2007
Burger King restaurants operate in over 65 countries and U.S. territories around the world. The main website for Burger King gives Burger King nutrition facts and food allergen information for the foods on Burger King's menu.
From the home page, click on the Explore BK bar and select Nutrition.
There are two main headings on the BK Nutrition page. All About Food has links for
- Build a Meal
- Allergens
- Ingredients
- Nutritional Brochure
- Regional Menu
while Meal Planning covers Burger King nutrition facts that apply to everyone, whether they have food allergies or not:
- Carbs
- Fat
- Calories
- Eating Stragegy
- Food Pyramid.
In the Allergens section of All About Food, there is a list of all of Burger King's menu items. This list is the first column on the left-hand side of a table.
BK presents the food facts in eight columns, one for each category of food allergens:
- Egg
- Fish
- Milk
- Peanuts
- Shellfish
- Soy
- Soy Lethicin
- Tree Nuts
- Wheat.
For each BK item, every column will show one of four codes:
- Solid black circle - "Allergen is present in the food ingredients"
- Empty circle, that is, like an O - "These products are cooked in common fryers which contain these known allergens"
- X - "Made on equipment that processes peanuts and other nuts"
- No symbol.
As with the food allergen menus of at least some of the other big fast food restaurant chains, the BK website contains warnings to the effect that:
- Customers should consult with their healthcare provider about what foods are appropriate for them
- Customers should check the BK website for current information, as items do change over time.
The food allergen menu is not the only detailed source of nutrition facts from Burger King. Looking at the Build a Meal part of the website, you can select any food from the menu and see 16 pieces of dietary information about each component of that item. For example, the BK signature sandwich, the Burger King Whopper, has eight components:
- Sesame Seed Bun
- Beef Patty
- Dill Pickles
- Ketchup
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Mayonnaise.
For each one of these, the Build a Meal chart shows information about the calories, fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, fibre, sugars, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium and iron.
You can get the same type of nutrition facts for Burger King fries, Burger King sandwiches, and all of other foods on the Burger King menu.
Further facts about the specific ingredients in each BK menu item can be found on the Ingredients page of the website. Because of the way Burger King has programmed the website, it is not easy to search the text using the "Edit / Find" method (in Internet Explorer). So, if you are looking for a particular ingredient, one way to check these lists is to copy and paste them into a document which does respond to "Edit / Find". (You can check by searching a word you know is in the ingredients list).
The BK food ingredients lists are detailed and contain a number of scientific-looking words, so reading them once on the screen might not reveal the information you are looking for - it would be easy to miss something using your eyes alone.
At the end of the windows of ingredients lists, Burger King provides a telephone number to call for questions about their menus. The number on the website appears to be in the USA. Regional numbers may be available via the parts of the website devoted to the "Worldwide" organization.
Anyone concerned about food allergies or intolerance should take all reasonable precautions. The information in this article is intended to help you find food selections which may be appropriate. However, you still must read the BK website information and take all necessary steps to decide for yourself whether the food is safe for your particular condition. You are responsible for your own food safety.
