Trading standards officers have urged people to tell restaurants if they have an allergy - even if you think you are ordering something safe for you to eat.

Essex Trading Standards said it had been responding to a number of food allergen incidents in recent weeks.

It included looking into an instance where a customer was served a vegan burger which contained egg.

A post on their Facebook page said: "On examination of the process and talking to all parties including the restaurant it appears that although the burger itself was vegan... non vegan mayonnaise may have been used in error.

"Clearly if customers request a vegan meal then they expect it to be just that... but of greater concern, if they have an egg allergy then this could be a serious food safety matter.

"We have done a bit of work with this business to test how robust their procedures are to ensure future food safety for consumers.

"It's also worth remembering that if you have a food allergy, when you order food, even if you think you're ordering food that you are safe to eat it makes good sense to talk to the restaurant and tell them that you have an allergy and why you're ordering that particular meal."