|
Allergen Guidelines for Caterers and Retailers
Allergen food labelling laws DO NOT apply to:
Foods sold loose
Catering menus
Allergen cross-contamination – for ingredients NOT added deliberately
BUT remember
Under the Food Safety Act 1990
Section 14 makes an offence to sell food not of nature or substance or quality described
Section 15 makes an offence to falsely describe, advertise or present food
The Trade Description Act 1968 makes it an offence in trade or business to make false or misleading statements about “goods”
The Food Safety Act 1990 provides for the defence of DUE DILIGENCE:
“It shall be a defence….that the person charged took all reasonable precautions …to avoid ….the offence”
To exercise Due Diligence for allergens we must:
- Know which allergens are in which food ingredients and meals
- Identify allergens for managing by Risk assessment
- Implement and operate systems to manage the risks identified
- Be Trained….
Because allergen labelling legislation does not cover caterers and restaurants this presents a major problem to food allergic customers because there is less information on which allergens are present in the food and so it is harder for them to know which foods are safe for them to eat.
Therefore training in this sector and communication between staff and the customer and between staff within the business is essential in ensuring that customers receive accurate information about the food sold.
The guideline you can download below provides detailed advice on how to provide accurate information on allergen in foods being sold. It includes practical advice and worked scenarios
on how to tackle allergy issues – this is aimed particularly at medium and large businesses and at enforcement bodies
Click Here to Download The Provision of Allergen Information
for Non Pre-packed Foods Guideline
For the ALLSAFE Managing Food Allergens course click here
|
