The numbers printed after each dish on a school lunch menu are small, but they matter. They tell you whether a dish contains an ingredient that can trigger an allergy, and once you can read them you can tell your child at home which side dishes to skip. This post unpacks what is laid out in the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education's published "2026 School Meal Policy Basic Plan," which summarizes Article 16 of the School Meals Act and Article 7 of its Enforcement Rule: the 19 labeled items, how schools must announce them, and what to do about ingredient-free meals, substitute meals and packed lunches.

The numbers after each dish are allergy-food codes

Article 16 of the School Meals Act makes it mandatory to announce allergy-triggering food information on the school meal menu. Which number means which ingredient is shown in the legend under the menu or in the school's notice. The list below follows the numbering in the education office's document, so compare it with your school's own legend when reading.

There are 19 labeled foods

The allergy-triggering foods set by Article 7 of the Enforcement Rule are (1) eggs, (2) milk, (3) buckwheat, (4) peanuts, (5) soybeans, (6) wheat, (7) mackerel, (8) crab, (9) shrimp, (10) pork, (11) peaches, (12) tomatoes, (13) sulfites, (14) walnuts, (15) chicken, (16) beef, (17) squid, (18) shellfish (including oysters, abalone and mussels) and (19) pine nuts. Sulfites are listed as recommended. A child who cannot have milk or eggs may meet them in soups, pancakes or sauces where they are hard to see, so check the numbers as well as the dish names.

The monthly menu goes home; the weekly menu is posted where students eat

The method of announcement is also fixed. The monthly menu marked with allergy ingredients is sent out by home newsletter and on the school website, and the weekly menu is posted at the place of eating, such as the cafeteria or classroom. In schools that serve meals in the classroom, the nutrition teacher or dietitian passes the weekly menu, with nutrition values, ingredient origins and allergy labels, to the homeroom teacher, who posts it in the classroom.

The duty covers raw ingredients, and failing it carries consequences

According to the document, among the foods announced by the head of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, raw ingredients are mandatory, while other ingredients and components are recommended. So the main ingredients of a dish must be labeled, but it is hard to assume that small components such as seasonings and additives are all listed. For violations, school meal staff face disciplinary action and contracted meal providers face a fine of up to 3 million won. On days with many processed foods, it is safer to ask the nutrition teacher directly how far the labeling goes.

If your child has an allergy, the school asks at the start of the term

Schools are told to use home newsletters and similar notices to survey, with the guardian's confirmation, students with allergies to specific foods, and to provide counseling and health education for them. The same document also says schools should look into including a food-allergy item in the start-of-term student health survey, so that parents are not asked similar questions repeatedly. When a health survey arrives, write the names of the allergy foods specifically. How the health survey and the health checkup are divided is covered in our guide to school health checkups for elementary grades 1 and 4 and middle and high school grade 1.

Providing information is required; ingredient-free and substitute meals vary by school

In the form the education office asks schools to fill in about allergy operations, providing food-allergy information is a required item, while providing ingredient-free meals and substitute meals are voluntary items. In plain terms, showing the numbers on the menu is every school's duty, but removing an allergy ingredient or swapping in another dish depends on each school's circumstances. Ask the nutrition teacher directly how far your school goes.

For menus that are hard to manage, you may send a packed lunch

The same document says that for menus where allergy-triggering foods are hard to manage through ingredient-free or substitute meals, a guardian who wishes may have the child bring a packed lunch. Also, when an individually tailored meal (substitute or ingredient-free) is provided through nutrition counseling, prior parental consent is required. Nutrition counseling is run after a survey of students who need dietary adjustment, such as those with food allergies.

Order of things to check at the start of the term

First, match the numbers and foods in the menu legend and mark the numbers your child must avoid. Second, write food names specifically in the health survey or allergy survey, and use the official channels for checking your child's school life to follow school notices. Third, ask the nutrition teacher whether ingredient-free or substitute meals are offered and how to send a packed lunch. Fourth, if you request an individual meal plan, confirm the counseling application and consent steps. Fifth, during parent-teacher conference week add an allergy item to the question list by school level and tell the homeroom teacher. This post gives general information on the school meal system and does not replace medical diagnosis or treatment. Decide the cause foods and how to respond to symptoms only with a medical professional, and note that school meal operations differ by school and regional education office, so rely on your school's notices and the nutrition teacher's explanation.