How to manage allergens in your food business.

Scientific research has shown that the incidence of food allergies, food intolerances and coeliac disease has been increasing significantly over a number of recent years and it is predicted that within the next twenty years the prevalence of these conditions will affect millions of people. Restaurants, coffee shops and retail outlets who provide food and beverage have got a duty of care to protect these potential customers from harm.

In December 2014 new European legislation came into play, The Food Information Regulations 2014. Looking at the bigger picture over the whole of the European union, it was decided that the 14 foods/ingredients that cause 95% of all problems in the whole of the European union would be contained within the list.

It has become a legal requirement that food businesses declare these specific allergens when they are used as ingredients in food that is sold. The purpose of the new legislation is to provide clear and accurate information about allergens in products so that it is easier for people affected by food allergies to make informed choices.

This will include all meals that are served from your location and not just pre-packed foods that are brought in by your company. All other foods must be considered including bar and other food service areas, therefore all types of drinks including beers, wines, spirits, liquors, cocktails, also anything else served from the bar including complimentary snacks, crisps, biscuits etc.

In addition to the need to declare allergens it is the responsibility of the food business to proactively signpost and encourage customers to declare a food allergy making. Businesses should also provide suitable and sufficient systems to control allergens at all stages including through the purchasing process, delivery and storage, preparation and service, customer information, staff information, training and supervision of all food handlers.All food handlers including bar and service staff should follow the following safety points to ensure a consistent level of safety is achieved.

Suppliers

In many cases a large company can specify supply and delivery of manufactured foods in order to avoid major and common allergens such as peanuts and tree-nuts, milk, eggs, crustaceans, gluten etc. All consideration should be taken at this stage as to whether some allergens can be avoided in order to avoid problems but also to make the menu more acceptable to more potential customers.

One example could be sauces and gravies that avoid gluten.Suppliers should have a system in place where the food business can get quick accessible written information about the ingredients within the products including information regarding products that “may contain” an ingredient.

Suppliers should have agreements in place that when branded products have had changes to the recipe / ingredients list made to a supplied product then they have a robust system in place to inform the food business of these changes, these must be written and not verbal.

If a supplier supplies an alternative product to the one ordered, there should be a robust system in place to inform the food business that this is the case and new information given regarding recipe / ingredients should be written, not verbal (written consent includes email that has been confirmed as received by the food business).

Deliveries

For many staff the first potential point of contact with foods that contain allergens is at the point of delivery. Staff must ensure that the delivery corresponds with the order that was placed ensuring that brands ordered have not been replaced with other brands without written consent. Staff should ensure that contamination has not taken place within the delivery process by checking that packaging is intact and that no spillages have taken place onto other products, it this is the case inform a responsible person as the whole delivery may need to be rejected, especially if allergen contamination with major allergens has taken place.Staff should ensure that all delivery items have correct and intact labelling. Items with missing labels must be rejected. Staff should then be careful when moving delivered stock to the point of storage that no potential contamination can take place.

Unboxing, decanting and storage

Care should be taken during the unboxing process that product primary packaging is kept intact and that the product or the packaging does not act as a source of contamination. Management and staff should consider where within the storage area that any of the 14 main allergens should be stored in relation to other products for the purposes of avoiding potential cross contamination.

If any of the 14 allergens are decanted into other containers, then all original information must be retained.

Containers that contain major allergens should not be washed then used for other foods and ingredients as the risk of cross contamination is too high. Dedicated containers should be used if decanted and disposed of if no longer required.

Every effort should be made that when storing major allergens such as nuts for example that they are stored on lower shelves to avoid risks from spillages.

Please consider some people are so sensitive to peanuts/ tree nuts that even dust and microscopic particles have been known to trigger anaphylaxis. Some people are so sensitive to shellfish that vapours emanating from them have been known to set off an anaphylactic reaction.

Extreme care should be taken if a spillage occurs with any kind of major allergen. Wet cleaning is advised using disposable cloths which should be carefully discarded after a robust clean has taken place. Sweeping should be avoided to avoid making small particles airborne and thus cross contaminating further products.

Allergen matrix

A requirement of The Food Information Regulations 2014 is that food businesses should compile a file or matrix detailing the ingredients within their menus and recipes, specifically detailing the presence of any of the main 14 allergens including the presence of items that “may contain” an allergen. This matrix will serve as a reference when customers ask about the presence of allergens in a meal/recipe. This must be maintained diligently by the senior chef and/or the executive chef in regard to any changes made to the recipe, the original ingredients or changes to products by suppliers.

Chefs should consider items that have been cooked in the same oil as another product as this item would now potentially contain allergens for other products cooked in the same oil. For example, a gluten free customer asking for some chips, which subsequently are cooked in the same oil as some fish with a batter having previously been cooked in the same fryer, the chips would now contain gluten.For the above example, now the chips being offered would have to indicate the presence of gluten within the menu, the recipe and the allergen matrix.

If any condiments, sauces or sundries are provided on the table to the customer, the customer must be made aware of the presence of any of the 14 main allergens present within them, these should be indicated on the menu as well as within the allergen matrix.

Click here to create your allergen matrix and record which allergens are in your menu.

Preparation

Food preparation staff must understand that people can be allergic to almost any kind of food / ingredient as well as the main 14 allergens. All the following safety measures will need to be considered when informed by a customer that they have a food allergy to something which is not one of the main 14 allergens. Chefs should consider making recipe sheets detailing all individual ingredients for the purposes of preparation of a meal involving an allergen which is not one of the main 14 allergens in order to avoid future problems.

Before preparation of an allergen free meal, consideration should be given to where this will take place, it is advised that a dedicated worktop be allocated for this process. If a work surface cannot be dedicated permanently then a robust clean of a temporary surface must take place.

When cleaning a surface for allergen purposes, the surface should undergo preliminary cleaning with a food grade degreaser/hard surface cleaner first before the use of the sanitiser. The most important issue being that food residues including proteins, oils, fats, starches, sugars are removed diligently, the risk coming from the food residue, of course the disinfection stage must also take place after this to ensure that pathogens are removed.All equipment and utensils intended for use as part of the preparation must be considered, suitable and sufficient cleaning and disinfection must take place by the use of a well-maintained industrial grade dishwasher.

Staff involved in the preparation of the food should consider their clothing and whether it could be a source of cross contamination, it is recommended that disposable aprons are worn to avoid contamination.

Staff should also consider what they may have eaten themselves at breaks in regard to major allergens e.g. Eating a snicker bar at lunchtime, then preparing a peanut free meal later.Staff involved in the preparation of an allergen free food must was their hands robustly before and after the handling of these foods/ingredients. Alcohol gel will not work as food residues must be removed from the skin by soap and water.

Consideration should be given to any cloths used whilst preparing allergen free food, these should be single use and throw away.Consideration must be given to where the waste products from allergen free preparation will go, it is advised that waste bins are dedicated and that they are close to where the preparation is taking place and that they are emptied regularly.Food preparation staff must not deviate from fixed recipes, adding in extra ingredients that are not contained within the information in the allergen matrix.

Service

All service staff including bar staff must undergo allergen awareness training, also managers and supervisors should undergo allergen management training to ensure control measures are being maintained and adhered to diligently. Food service staff should ensure that allergen free meals are served separately from other meals.

Service staff taking food orders must ensure that any allergen information is communicated clearly to food preparation staff, as many mistakes have occurred in the past during this stage. If a member of service staff is unsure about anything, they should refer the query to a manager or supervisor who has the required levels of knowledge to deal it.Staff must never tell or promise a customer anything that they do not understand properly, they must get assistance from a manager or supervisor who has the relevant knowledge to deal with the customer.

Communication between service staff and kitchen staff is absolutely critical, it must be robust and clear at all times. It is an offence under food hygiene laws to give inaccurate or incomplete information to a customer and can lead to prosecution.

Service staff must be trained and made aware that sundry items can sometimes contain allergens. For example, a gluten free customer being served a complimentary chocolate or biscuit with a coffee after the main meal has been consumed.If any condiments, sauces or sundries are provided on the table to the customer, the customer must be made aware of the presence of any of the 14 main allergens present within them, these should be indicated on the menu as well as within the allergen matrix.

Agency staff and outside caterers

Management must ensure that outside caterers can prove that they have suitable and sufficient control measures in place in regard to allergen control and management. Risk assessments must be provided by outside catering operations detailing all measures taken to prevent, control and mitigate risks from allergens. They must also be able to prove that their staff have undergone robust allergen management and awareness training and can provide an allergen matrix detailing all potential food allergens contained within their offering.

Temporary and agency staff must be able to prove that they have adequate knowledge and have undergone allergen training before handling food

Corrective actions

•Reject deliveries or items that breach allergen controls.
•Discard foods that have been cross contaminated with allergens.
•Retrain staff if allergen controls are breached and provide extra supervision until competency is shown.