WinteR 2017 ALLErGEnS And ALCoHoL Eat, drink and be very vigilant Food and alcohol are integral to the seasons festivities, but beware hidden dangers when serving up your Christmas menu or selling peoples favourite tipple Ensuring customers have accurate allergy information is important all year round, but at Christmas when menus are unfamiliar to staff and customers it is even more crucial for business owners to be vigilant. If you are not, the lives of your customers can be put in danger and you could end up facing serious criminal charges. Make sure your allergen information is legal, accurate, up to date and communicated effectively by following these simple guidelines: Check the ingredients of all foods and recipes on your Christmas menu, to see if any of the 14 specific food allergens are present. remember, manufacturers may add festive allergenic ingredients such as nuts that you would not expect to find at other times of the year. Staff should be aware of the dangers of giving incorrect allergy advice, and trained to check with the kitchen every time someone asks about an allergen Keep a file or folder of allergen information for each dish, so staff can answer enquiries correctly and show the relevant page to the customer if asked to do so. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has produced a matrix that can help you. Inform customers about all allergens in your food either in writing, using the FSA matrix, or by displaying a notice for them to ask staff for advice. Always check never guess when a customer asks if a food contains a particular ingredient. Staff should be aware of the dangers of giving incorrect allergy advice, and trained to check with the kitchen every time someone asks about an allergen. This is especially important at Christmas, when regular employees are not as familiar with new foods on the menu and when you may be employing temporary staff. do not use substitutes if you run out of ingredients until you have first checked for allergens. update your allergen file/menu as soon as you can and make sure all staff are made aware of such changes immediately. Thoroughly clean work surfaces and equipment if you are making food for someone with an allergy. Wash your hands properly before preparing the food and be careful that you dont cook it in oil that has already been contaminated with the allergen. do not agree to 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. Store and label foods separately, in closed containers especially peanuts, nuts, seeds, milk powder and flour to ensure staff know which ingredients are in which containers, and to prevent cross-contamination. Be careful with shared equipment, serving spoons, chopping boards, woks and so on. remember food allergens can be life threatening and the only way people can manage a food allergy is to avoid the foods that make them ill. For further advice see FsA guidance. avoid illegal alcohol this Christmas Selling illegal alcohol is problematic for several reasons. As well as misleading customers, the trade in counterfeit and illicit brands creates unfair competition for honest traders, helps fund organised crime and causes uK tax losses. Such products have probably also been produced with little or no regard for safety, and have the potential to cause anything from nausea to blindness and even death. Any alcohol not sourced from a legitimate supplier is likely to be illegal either an illicit, unknown brand, a counterfeit, or a genuine product that has been smuggled or stolen. to avoid buying illegal alcohol this Christmas, remember the 4 ps: place Only deal with reputable suppliers and get proper invoices. Cash and carry businesses have been known to deal in illicit alcohol, so still check. Keep all invoices, as it is a requirement to show traceability. never buy alcohol from anyone who brings the goods to the shop. the drink will, undoubtedly, be illegal in some way. Control your stock, so you can be sure of where the goods come from for example, mark boxes of alcohol with the supplier and date of purchase. Be careful about accepting returns from customers who have changed their minds. Credit: Stuart Powell Image: istock / vitalina Click numbers for the 4 ps 1 2 3 4 price if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is. packaging Check the label and, where possible, compare it with a bottle that you know is genuine. Warning signs include poor printing, spelling errors, poor-quality label/ alignment, overstuck labels and foreign labelling. Is the case resealed? if spirits are sold in cases that have been resealed or have uK duty paid crossed through, dont buy them. Also check that individual bottle caps are properly sealed even if the alcohol is genuine, it could have been tampered with. Spirits in bottles of 35cl or larger and of 30% ABv or higher have to have a uK duty stamp. this will glow white, yellow or green when uv light is shined on it, and should not reflect blue/violet. uv lights are easy and cheap to buy, and checking your stock with such a light is a sensible precaution. Is there a fake bar code? Scan the code to see if it is listed as the correct product. products Look out for fake versions of well-known brands and be wary of names that you havent seen before. vodka, the most commonly counterfeited spirit, shouldnt have any white particles or sediment in the bottle; if it does, the vodka could have been diluted with tap water. if you are offered illegal alcohol, report it to trading Standards via the confidential fakes hotline on 0300 303 2636 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. For further information, please contact your local trading Standards Service