Autumn and winter are full of opportunities to serve festive food – but make sure you and your staff know exactly what is on the menu ‘Always check, never guess, whenever a customer asks about allergens. Staff should be aware of the dangers of giving incorrect allergy advice’ Credit: Brandon Cook, Trading Standards officer Image: iStock / RKaulitzki Ensuring customers are given accurate food and allergy information is important all year round, but during the autumn and winter festive seasons – when menus may be unfamiliar to staff and customers –it is even more crucial. Any lack of vigilance can endanger the lives of customers and leave business owners facing serious criminal charges, so follow these guidelines: Check the ingredients of all foods and recipes on your menu to see if any of the 14 specific food allergens are present. Remember, manufacturers may add seasonal allergenic ingredients, such as nuts, that you might not expect to find at other times of the year. Always check that what is delivered is what was ordered. Keep a file or folder containing all allergen information for each dish, so that staff are able to answer enquiries correctly and show the relevant page to the customer if requested to do so. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has produced a recipe sheet and menu chart that can help you. Inform customers about all allergens in your food, either in writing or verbally. If you do not have enough room on your menu to put all the allergy information, you need to make customers aware that they can ask staff for advice. Always check – never guess – whenever a customer asks about allergens. Staff should be aware of the dangers of giving incorrect advice and trained to check with the kitchen every time someone asks about an allergen. This is especially important when there are new menus and when employing temporary staff. If you run out of ingredients, do not use substitutes until you have first checked for allergens. Update your allergen file/menu and make sure all staff are aware of such changes immediately. Remember, food allergies can be life-threatening, and the only way people can manage a food allergy is to avoid the foods that make them ill. It is your responsibility to know your ingredients and to inform your customers. An oversight on your part, such as serving someone a food to which they are allergic, can cause serious harm to your customer. and damage the reputation of your business. For further advice, see the FSA guidance. Avoiding cross-contamination Keep alert to allergens Some allergy sufferers can have a severe reaction to minute traces of an allergen in their food. Even if you do not intentionally add the allergen as an ingredient, there may be some cross-contamination from work surfaces, utensils, storage containers, cooking pans, and so on. To avoid cross-contamination: l Store and label foods separately, in closed containers – this will also ensure staff always know which ingredients are in which containers l Keep ingredients that contain allergens separate from other ingredients l Use separate work surfaces, chopping boards and utensils for foods prepared free from one or several allergens l Clean utensils before each use, especially if they were For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service used to prepare meals containing allergens l Wash your hands thoroughly between preparing dishes. Allergen cross-contamination can even happen through using the same cooking oil. If you are preparing gluten- free chips, for example, you can’t use oil that has been used for cooking battered fish. Do not serve an ‘allergen-free’ meal unless you can be sure all your ingredients are free from the allergen and that you have avoided cross-contamination. If you are unable to avoid cross-contamination, tell customers that you can’t provide an allergen-free dish. For more guidance on managing allergens in the kitchen, see the Safer food, better business for caterers pack. AUTUMN 2019 ALLERGENS