03/12/2014
Food Allergens
Allergenic Food Products
From 13th December 2014 new legislation (the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation 1169/2011) comes into force. This law means that you may have to change the way you prepare, cook or sell food to your customers.
From December 2014 all food businesses must be able to provide any customer with allergen information about all the dishes you offer. You will have to identify the ingredients for EVERY ITEM ON YOUR MENU and which allergens are in that dish. Therefore you will need to know what allergen is used in every dish or recipe you make or sell.
This legislation applies to all food establishment including takeaways and restaurants.
Takeaways - you must be able to give all your customers information about ANY allergen in a dish.
Home Deliveries - you must provide a written list of the allergens for EVERY DISH that is delivered. If you do not include this information you will not be allowed to sell the dish.
Restaurants - allergen information MUST be provided to customers either by a member of staff informing the customer verbally or by providing an up to date list of ingredients used in any/all dishes.
The new legislation applies to 14 major allergens. The allergens include:
• cereals containing gluten for example wheat, rye, and barley
• crustaceans, for example prawns, crabs, lobster and crayfish
• molluscs, for example clams, mussels, whelks, oysters, snails and squid
• eggs
• fish
• mustard
• soybeans
• milk
• celery (and celeriac)
• sesame
• sulphur dioxide
• lupin
• peanuts
• nuts including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio,cashew and macadamia nuts
Hidden allergens - Some of the 14 allergens are easily identified whereas others may be hidden in food products e.g. celery is used in ready meals, gravy and spice mixes. This means that every food product you use must also be checked for hidden allergens.
Free From - It is important that businesses can not only identify allergenic products but have a ‘free from list’ for customers who have intolerances to dairy, wheat, gluten etc. Legislation states this list must be kept up to date and revisited regularly to ensure accuracy.
