As more and more children are developing allergies it is important for nurseries who are providing food to be more aware of how to prevent children coming into contact with certain foods. The new allergen information rules gives advice and information on food allergies and intolerances and guidance for business on controlling cross contamination for pre packed foods and loose foods.
On 13 December 2014, new legislation (the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation No. 1169/2011) came into force which requires food businesses to provide allergy information on food sold unpackaged.
For nurseries which provide non-prepacked food they are to provide information on allergenic ingredients, this can be done by displaying a chart in the kitchen with the list of the 14 allergens and highlighting the ingredients found in the meals.
For more information on the 14 allergens visit http://www.food.gov.uk/business-industry/allergy-guide
Allergen menu matrix
The food standards agency have created a allergen menu matrix that can be filled in displaying showing what allergens are in the dishes. This will help kitchen staff to log and check allergen information on dishes.
For professionals working in the catering industry there is a free interactive food allergy training module that can be found at food.gov.uk/allergy-training.