Food Allergy Legislation for Caterers

For those that suffer from food allergies, allergic reactions can range from mild digestive irritation, to life threatening situations. Approximately ten people in the UK each year die as a result of consuming food that triggers an allergic reaction. As a result, caterers must do everything they can to ensure that allergens do not come into contact with people who are allergic to them. In this article, we’re going to look at the legislation in place that caterers and other food industry workers must adhere to, some of the ways in which food containing allergens can be safely handled and the primary allergens that must legally be identified.

Legislation

The most important piece of legislation currently in force when it comes to allergens in food is the Food Information for Consumers Regulation 2014. This is an EU ruling designed to help make sure that people who suffer from allergies can quickly, easily and reliably determine which foods are safe or not safe for them to eat. This is a critically important piece of law that was put in place to reduce serious illnesses and deaths that result from consuming allergens - it is a critical health matter. Failure to adhere to this legislation can in some case result in criminal prosecution, so it is very important that all relevant employees within the catering sector understand it.

The primary requirement for the Food Information for Consumers Regulation 2014 is that items containing any of the 14 primary allergens must be clearly labelled on pre-packaged food so that consumers know what they are purchasing. We will cover these 14 allergens in the final section of this article. There are also some specifics around the way products are labelled, such as the requirement for allergens to be clearly distinguished from normal ingredients. These specifications can be read in official documentation on the subject.

In order to correctly label food products, it is of course also essential that caterers and their employees have the requisite knowledge. In some situations, such as canteens or restaurants, it will not be possible to label items, so information regarding potential allergens must be available and accurate upon request. You must make every effort to understand what all of your food products contain, and restaurant allergy advice must be effectively stored and ready for retrieval at any time.

Allergens and Catering - Safe Food Handling

Continuing on from the previous section, it is very important to note that effective allergen management can only happen if you are sure what all products contain. In food preparation areas, it is possible for cross-contamination to occur, which means that a customer could potentially consume an allergen that they did not believe was present. As a result, proper food handling techniques are essential. This means enforcing practices such as separation in storage, equipment, cutlery and more. If you are a chef, allergy legislation will be important to your day-to-day kitchen management.

Hazard analysis and critical control points, known more commonly as HACCP, is an approach to food preparation that aims to ensure that products are safe, which includes ensuring they contain only the allergens they are intended and known to contain. Further information on how HACCP can be implemented is available through the Food Standards Authority, but the core principles centre around controlling points where hazards may be an issue in a structured way so that you can prevent contamination. The seven principles are the following:

Conduct a hazard analysis
Identify critical control points
Establish critical limits for each critical control point
Establish critical control point monitoring requirements
Establish corrective actions
Establish procedures for ensuring the HACCP system is working as intended
Establish recordkeeping procedures

Note: Advisory labelling will be necessary in certain situations where it cannot be guaranteed that a product is free from traces of an allergen, but where it is not the intention that the allergen is an ingredient. This is useful for people who have varying degrees of allergic susceptibility.

Common Allergens

The most common allergens, and the ones that by law must be clearly labelled on pre-packaged food are the following:

Cereals that contain gluten, which includes wheat, rye, barley and oats
Crustaceans such as prawn, crab and lobster
Eggs
Fish
Peanuts, which must be disclosed separately to other nuts
Soybeans
Milk or lactose
Nuts, including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts and macadamia nuts
Celery and celeriac
Mustard
Sesame
Sulphur dioxide or sulphites, if present at a level above 10mg/kg or 10mg/l
Lupin and its seeds, which can be found in types of bread, pastries and pasta
Molluscs such as mussels, whelks, oysters, snails and squid

For further guidance on managing food allergies within the catering industry, Virtual College offers a Food Allergy Awareness course that is designed to help businesses become legislation-compliant. Click here to find out more.