Catering Scotland

On 13^th December this year, new regulations from the European Commission will come into force which will greatly impact the food and drink industry. Wan Mak, Head of Nutrition and Dietetics at Sodexo UK and Ireland, explains what foodservice operators need to do to stay in line with the regulations.

The Food Information for Consumers Regulation will mean that all food operators must inform consumers as to whether any of the fourteen allergens included in the Regulation are used as ingredients in foods sold with or without packaging. With the results of  a recent Kantar Worldpanel study demonstrating that more than half of the UK population are now buying so-called free-from products, this measure aims to meet modern customer needs and demands.

The new rules, which will apply to foods served in food outlets and from counters, require allergen information for freshly prepared, non-pre-packed food to be provided in written or verbal form.

And a key change in the regulations obliges all food workers to be able to provide these fourteen allergen details to customers. The excuse of not knowing about specific ingredients or claiming that all food may include traces of allergenic ingredients will no longer be acceptable.

Likewise, there will be immense pressure on providers who will need to consider a number of factors in order to achieve compliance. At Sodexo, our team has been working over the past few years to ensure there are procedures in place to overcome the challenges of meeting the new regulatory requirements. In our experience, the crucial processes to put into place include effective training for all relevant staff, comprehensive collation and access to up-to-date data on the allergens contained in ingredients and a consistent but customisable approach for different foodservice settings.

www.sodexo.com