Allergens / free-from
How to Create an Allergens / Free-From Metafield in Accentuate Custom Fields (ACF)
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure you have:
An active Shopify store
Accentuate Custom Fields installed from the Shopify App Store
Staff permissions to access Apps in your Shopify admin
(Recommended) An Online Store 2.0 theme, which allows metafield values to be displayed via the theme editor without touching code
Key Concepts to Know First
Scope — The Shopify object the metafield attaches to. For Allergens / Free-From, this will be Products.
Namespace & Key — The unique identifier for your field. The namespace groups related fields (e.g. custom) and the key is the specific field name (e.g. free_from). Together they form custom.free_from, which is the address used in your theme to pull the value.
Field Data Type — Controls what kind of data the field holds. For Allergens / Free-From, a Multi Select is strongly recommended. A single product can be free from multiple ingredients or allergens simultaneously — for example, a moisturiser might be Fragrance-Free, Paraben-Free, and Vegan all at once. Multi Select allows all applicable claims to be tagged clearly and consistently.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1 — Open ACF from your Shopify Admin Go to your Shopify Admin, click Apps in the left sidebar, and open Accentuate Custom Fields. You'll land on the ACF dashboard, which shows the Metafields and metaobjects section with cards for Products, Shops, Metaobjects, and Customers.
Step 2 — Open Product Metafields In the Products card, click the Metafields button. This takes you into the Product Custom Fields screen where you can see all existing fields listed with their types and manage your definitions.
Step 3 — Add a New Section Click the + Add section button in the top-right area of the Product Custom Fields screen. An Add Section modal will open across two pages.
Page 1 — Basic Details:
Title: Allergens / Free-From — displayed in bold as a visual header when editing product values (1–50 characters, no HTML)
Name: free_from — must be unique within your Product fields (3–64 characters, letters, digits, underscores or dashes only)
Description: Optionally add a note like Allergens and ingredients this product does not contain — supports Markdown
Color: Leave as the default #dfe3e8, or choose a colour to visually distinguish this section from others
All fields in this section apply to: Leave as All types unless you want to restrict this to specific product types
Make visible to the Storefront API: Leave checked (default) — this makes the free-from values accessible in themes and custom storefronts
Click Next to continue.
Page 2 — Advanced Settings:
Repeatable section: Leave unchecked — free-from claims are a single set of values per product, not a repeating block.
Include value of first text field: Leave unchecked — not needed for a select-type field.
Show as collapsed when editing: Leave unchecked — keeps the section expanded by default so it is easy to find and fill in when editing a product.
Hide section: Leave unchecked — checking this would make the section invisible in the editor entirely.
Show section even if empty: Optionally check this if you want the section to always appear on products, even before any values have been assigned.
Exclude from layout: Leave unchecked — only tick this if you want the section excluded from ACF's layout editing tools.
Click Done to save the section.
Step 4 — Add the Free-From Field Once the section is saved, click + Add field to add the actual field inside it. Fill in the details:
Label: Allergens / Free-From
Namespace: accentuate (ACF's default, or use your own e.g. beauty)
Key: free_from
Field Data Type: Select Multi Select — this allows multiple free-from claims to be tagged on a single product at the same time
Step 5 — Add Your Free-From Options Once Multi Select is chosen, add each allowed value one by one:
Formulation Claims:
Fragrance-Free
Paraben-Free
Sulphate-Free
Silicone-Free
Alcohol-Free
Oil-Free
Dye-Free
Preservative-Free
Mineral Oil-Free
PEG-Free
Allergen & Sensitivity Claims:
Hypoallergenic
Dermatologist Tested
Non-Comedogenic
Gluten-Free
Nut-Free
Soy-Free
Ethical & Lifestyle Claims:
Vegan
Cruelty-Free
Reef-Safe
No Synthetic Fragrances
Add, remove, or rename options at any time to match your brand's specific claims.
Step 6 — Save Click Save. Your Allergens / Free-From field will now appear inside its section on every product edit page in your Shopify admin.
Populating Free-From Values on Products
One by one: Open any product in Shopify Admin, scroll to the Allergens / Free-From section added by ACF, select all applicable values from the multi-select dropdown, and save.
Bulk edit: Back on the Product Custom Fields screen, click Edit Values to open the table/bulk edit view. All products appear as rows and you can update the Free-From column across many products at once. Ideal when you have a consistent set of claims that apply to a large portion of your range.
CSV import: Use the Export button to download a CSV template, fill in the free_from column for each product row (separate multiple values with the delimiter shown in the template), then re-import via the Import button. Best for large catalogs or migrating data from an existing spreadsheet.
Displaying Free-From Claims on Your Storefront
Theme Editor (no code, OS 2.0 themes): Go to Online Store → Themes → Customize. Open a product template, click Add Block, select an ACF or Metafield block, choose the Allergens / Free-From field, position it on the page (typically near the ingredient list or product highlights), and save. It will display automatically for any product with values set.
Liquid Code (all themes): Add this to your product template file where you want the free-from claims to appear:
{% if product.metafields.custom.free_from %}
<div class="free-from">
<strong>Free From:</strong>
{% for claim in product.metafields.custom.free_from.value %}
<span class="free-from-tag">{{ claim }}</span>
{% unless forloop.last %}, {% endunless %}
{% endfor %}
</div>
{% endif %}
If you used a custom namespace (e.g. beauty), replace custom with your namespace name.
Tips & Best Practices
Only tag what is verified — free-from and allergen claims carry consumer trust and in some markets legal weight. Only select options that have been confirmed by your formulator or supplier. Never tag a claim based on assumption.
Distinguish "Free-From" from "Contains" — this field is specifically for what a product does not contain. If you want to highlight key active ingredients, create a separate Key Ingredients metafield for that purpose.
Use free-from claims for collection filtering — connect free_from as a filter in Online Store → Navigation → Filter menus. Shoppers with specific sensitivities (fragrance, parabens, gluten) can then filter your range to find safe products instantly.
Keep ethical claims separate if needed — if your brand has a lot of ethical certifications (Vegan, Cruelty-Free, Reef-Safe), you may want to split those into a dedicated Certifications metafield to keep your free-from list focused on formulation claims.
Be consistent with naming — decide early whether to use hyphens (Paraben-Free) or not (Paraben Free) and apply it uniformly. Inconsistent labels create duplicate filter values on the storefront.
Avoid the shopify namespace — it is reserved by Shopify and can cause conflicts. Use custom or a brand-specific name.
Multi-language stores — ACF supports translatable metafields. Mark Allergens / Free-From as translatable if you need localised claim labels for different markets.
Quick Reference
Setting
Value
Scope
Products
Section Title
Allergens / Free-From
Section Name
free_from
Field Label
Allergens / Free-From
Namespace
custom
Key
free_from
Full Identifier
custom.free_from
Field Data Type
Multi Select
Options
Fragrance-Free, Paraben-Free, Sulphate-Free, Silicone-Free, Alcohol-Free, Oil-Free, Hypoallergenic, Non-Comedogenic, Vegan, Cruelty-Free, and more (see Step 5)
Storefront API
Enabled (checked by default)
Liquid Reference
{{ product.metafields.custom.free_from.value }}
For further details, visit the official ACF documentation at help.accentuate.io
Last updated