Food allergy awareness - Level 3

Why is it important to explain what ‘allergen-free’ means at your premises?

The phrase allergen-free is self-explanatory, so while it’s useful to explain what allergen-free means, it is not essential to do so

Allergen-free suggests with absolute certainty that a dish is free from a specific ingredient. Explaining what you mean by allergen-free helps avoid dangerous misunderstandings

Commercial premises licensing controlled by your local council requires you to publish an explanation of what allergen-free means at your premises as a condition of operating

Public liability insurance requires you to publish an explanation of what constitutes allergen-free food at your premises
What is the difference between an allergen-free food ingredient, and an allergen-removed food ingredient?

Allergen-free ingredients are naturally free of the allergen in question. Allergen-removed foods are those that naturally contain the allergen that have been processed to remove most, but often not all, of the allergenic substance

Allergen-free ingredients are any foods that you declare as allergen-free. Allergen-removed foods are those where you have omitted a particular ingredient when preparing a dish for a customer with a food allergy or intolerance

Allergen-free ingredients are any ingredients that are supplied by an audited major food supplier based in the UK. Allergen-removed ingredients are those that are supplied by small independent unaudited suppliers

There is no difference between an allergen-free ingredient and an allergen-removed ingredient
You decide to not introduce any allergen-free food options into your menu. Are there any practical actions required by law that you still must do to comply with allergenic ingredient labelling?

Action is required. As a minimum, you must provide menus or ingredients listings including an appropriate allergen declaration and /or a sign asking customers to refer allergy queries to staff

No action is required. Premises that do not make allergen-free food claims are unaffected by recent allergenic ingredient labelling legislation

No action is required. Your Environmental Health Officer (EHO) will issue you a food operator license, even without proof of compliance

No action is required. The latest allergenic ingredient food labelling laws are voluntary, even for premises making allergen-free food claims

Introduction to food allergies - questions

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Law and responsibility

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