Did you know that millions of people worldwide are affected by food allergies? In the United Kingdom alone, it is estimated that over 2 million people have a food allergy.
Food Allergy Week
Every year in May, Food Allergy Awareness Week focuses on highlighting this issue. The primary goal of this week is to raise awareness about the potential dangers of food allergies and educate individuals on the importance of effectively managing them.
Food Allergy Awareness Week is organised by Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), a non-profit organisation dedicated to improving people’s lives with food allergies.
Catering teams responsibilities
Training and Education
First, your main goal is to ensure your food is safe for everyone, including those with food allergies. You need to have the correct process in place and make sure your catering teams know how to:
- Ensure your catering operation is fully prepared to handle allergens
- Prevent cross-contamination and use correct food storing processes
- Understand the potential impact of allergens on your customers
- Recognise the signs and symptoms of an allergic reaction
- Comply with the latest legislation
Legal Requirements
The Food Information Regulation 2014 and the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation state that you must provide information about the 14 major allergens. These include gluten, crustaceans, molluscs, eggs, fish, peanuts, nuts, soybeans, milk, celery, mustard, sesame, lupin, and sulphur dioxide. Make sure you have these covered and can share the allergens in your dishes with your customers on your menu (printed or online), at the counter or dining table.
In 2021, Natasha’s Law was introduced and this law makes it compulsory to list full ingredients and allergens on foods that are made and sold on the same premises, like pre-packed for direct sales foods (PPDS). It’s a game-changer, ensuring customers have all the necessary information to make informed choices about their eating. You can download a handy checklist here to find out if you are compliant.
Customer Communication
Be open, transparent and make it easy for your customers to access vital information about the allergens in your food and how you handle and prepare them. This empowers them to make safe, informed decisions and enjoy your delicious offerings without worries.
Having the right knowledge, providing thorough training, and communicating effectively with your customers will create a safe and inclusive experience for everyone. Let’s make sure everyone can enjoy their meals.
Solutions for Complying and Managing Allergens with Confidence
Piranha – Menu and Allergen Management
The Pelican team has developed Piranha, an online Menu and Allergen Management tool part of our Pi procurement system. It’s designed to make it easier for food operators to manage menu costs, allergens, and dietary requirements.
Piranha has 3 key benefits:
- View allergen and nutritional data at the product or recipe level (data is requested by Pelican directly from suppliers)
- Easily generate recipe specification sheets
- Download allergen and nutrition sheets to share them easily with your customers
‘The Food Checker’ – The fast way to menu information
To help the catering team further, we have created an addition to the Pi system, which we call ‘The Food Checker’. This new digital tool is a fast and easy way to share allergen, nutrition and calorie information with your customers, as they can access them directly from their mobile phones!
The ‘Food Checker’ has 3 key benefits:
- Easy to use and quick to set up! Plus, you can add your branding
- Easily create QR codes to share menu or dish information
- No apps or software to install and compatible with all smartphones (Android and iOS)
Both Piranha and ‘The Food Checker’ systems are available complimentary to all Pelican clients. This includes setup, training and support!
Request a demo
If you would like to see how Piranha or ‘The Food Checker’ can help you, contact us today! Our friendly Pi team will be happy to show you. Get in touch with us at hello@pelicanprocurement.co.uk
