Allergies are on the increase; indeed they have risen sharply over the last 20 years for reasons that are unclear. Around 1 in 100 people suffer with coeliac disease. With children under the age of 3- one in 14 has one or more food allergies. Whereas children do grow out of some allergies some 4 out of 5 children with peanut allergies continue this into adult life. It is established practice that foods and beverages that are packaged detail ingredients as well as highlight, or separately detail, allergens that are included in the product.
Since December 2014, the law has changed regarding food outlets and allergens. Your business could be fined if you do not comply to allergy legislation.
“This is the step by step process that has been designed to assist any type of catering and hospitality business in the UK and EU to comply with the new EU FIC 1169/2011 Law from 13th December 2014 and meet the needs of consumers with allergies. The Food Standards Agency welcomes initiatives like this to achieve greater understanding of food allergens and how to provide allergen information to the consumer to help them make safer food choices.”
In order to meet the needs of people with allergies AND remain within the EU Law- Food Business Operator's (FBO's) need to ensure they have the correct Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) in place to ensure a consistent legal approach.
Registered Organisations:
Allergen Accreditation provides the Benchmark for operators to develop their KPI's, systems and procedures for managing the new legislation as well as Full Allergen Disclosure. It provides support and useful links and provides the operator with a nationally recognised accreditation that they are Allergy Aware.
This process and accreditation is for ALL catering outlets
The Food Standards Agency have released a technical guidance for caterers which you can Download Here
The new law is enforceable from the 13th of December 2014. Download the full document: New EU Law (FIC)1169/2011
Read more about the benefits of achieving an Allergen Accreditation: Here