Food labelling laws for the Food Service industry have changed, by December 2014 any establishment or supplier providing food products will need to label, products ensuring that food allergens are listed and highlighted.

Here are a few questions and answers to help you see what this could mean for you.

What types of food allergies are there?

There are currently 14 main food allergens listed by the EU FIR 1169/2011

  • Gluten containing cereals
  • Crustaceans
  • Molluscs
  • Fish
  • Peanuts#
  • Lupin
  • Nuts (tree)
  • Soya
  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Celery
  • Mustard
  • Sesame
  • Sulphur dioxide - at levels above 10mg/kg, or 10 mg/litre, expressed as SO2

# Although peanuts are legumes (like beans, peas, chickpeas) rather thannuts. Allergen labelling lawstates peanuts are one of the 14 allergens which must be declared on labelling, and nuts (collectively – e.g. Brazils,Hazelnuts) are another. You may react to one or the other – or both.

What happens if a sufferer consumes something containing the substance they are allergic to?

This can vary from person to person, from slight dis comfort to severe anaphylactic reactions and possible death. It is for this reason that the EU is updating food labelling law.

How many food allergy sufferers are there in the UK?

  • An estimated 21 million adults in the UK suffer from at least one allergy(Mintel, 2010).
  • Allergy is widespread in the UK. Millions of adults suffer from at least one allergy, with numbers continuing to rise. Each year the number of allergy sufferer’s increases by 5%, half of all affected being children.
  • 13 million people below the mid-forties have 2 or more allergies(Allergy The Unmet Need, 2003)
  • 10% of children and adults under the age of 45 have 2 or more allergies(Allergy The Unmet Need, 2003).
  • The UK is one of the top three countries in the world for the highest incident of allergy(The Allergenic Invasion, 1999).
  • 50% of children and young people have one or more allergy within the first 18 years of life (Journal of Clinical &Experimental Allergy, 2009).

How many companies in the UK currently offer “Free-From” menu options?

Currently this is an unknown quantity, there are many restaurants who offer for example gluten free choices, some have no knowledge of cross contamination issues and how the allergen customer will be affected when served their allergen in error even in small quantities.

Many large chains say they are able to offer a gluten free menu, but the choices are very limited and staff training can vary depending on staff turnover and the size and nature of the company.

What are the regulations that Food Retail and Food Service Companies have to conform to currently?

Gluten-free labelling laws came into force in January 2012. This means that companies should adhere to the following guidance to be label food products as described below:

  • ‘gluten-free': at 20 parts per million of gluten or less.
  • 'very low gluten': at 100 parts per million of gluten or less - however, only foods with cereal ingredients that have been specially processed to remove the gluten may make a 'very low gluten' claim.
  • NGCI – this is not covered by the law and is for foods that are made with ingredients that don’t contain gluten and where cross contamination controls are in place.

These laws apply to all foods, pre-packed or sold loose, such as in health food stores or in catering establishments.

The EU Food Information Regulations (FIR) (1169/2011) came into effect 13thDecember 2011, and the allergen listing needs to be complied with by 13thDecember 2014.

What will the new regulations include?

The main changes affect food sold loose or sold directly to the consumer by the person packing the food (known as pre-packed for direct sale) are:

  • If the food contains any of the 14 allergenic ingredients, this will need to be declared toconsumers. This may be on labels, shelf edge, menus or verbally on request by the consumer (supported by written documentation available on request).
  • The presence of additives no longer need to be declared.
  • The name of the food is not required under the European legislation but may be required by UK provisions.

The main changes relating to food allergen products affecting pre-packed foods are:

  1. Previously food supplied between some businesses was exempt from labelling requirements. However, now everyone in the supply chain must ensure mandatory information is available on the food labelling or in commercial documents (such as delivery documents or invoices) so that those further down the supply chain can meet their obligations.
  1. The need to provide nutritional information on the labelling, such as energy, fat, carbohydrates, protein and salt. Previously nutritional information was only required where a claim such as ‘low in fat’ was used but is now mandatory, even where no such claims are used. If you already provide this information you will need to amend the labelling as the information to be provided in a different order, and the salt content is required rather than sodium. There are some specific, but limited, exemptions noted for example alcoholic drinks. This requirement applies from 13thDecember 2016.
  1. A Minimum Font Sizehas been set for all mandatory information; the height of the letter ‘x’ in the chosen font must not be less than 1.2mm.
  1. Allergenic ingredientsmust be emphasisedin the ingredients list e.g. by use of font, style or colour. The use of a ‘Contains: followed by a list of allergens’ statement will no longer be permitted (i.e. May contain nuts). Voluntary statements highlighting the risk of cross contamination with allergens may still be used.
  1. Country of origin labelling has been extended to the meat of pigs, sheep, goats and poultry. Beef, fish, honey, olive oil, fresh fruit and vegetables already require this.

Why are the laws changing?

The regulations are put in place to enable the consumer to make a safe decision when purchasing foods for their consumption, in relation to any food allergies they may have.

Which companies will be affected?

The legislation coversALL food supply business operators at ALL stages of the food supply chain, specifically relates to the provision of detailed information of food allergens contained within your product, and how you will provide this information to the end user.

Who is creating these regulations?

The European Commission.

What are the timescales for this?

The regulations were brought in on 13thDecember 2011, and need to be in place by 13thDecember 2014.

What will happen if companies do not comply?

Currently there is a consultancy taking place with the food service Industry and Defra, however if the regulations are not adhered to Trading Standards will be within their rights to prosecute those companies not compliant.

Please visitLink to see some examples of Hampshire companies who have not fully complied with the existing laws.

What is the background to the Food Allergy Training Consultancy (FATC)?

The FATC was been established by Caroline Benjamin (50) from Eastleigh in Hampshire. Caroline has suffered with food allergies for over 13 years and decided to help the food service industry learn more about food allergy awareness and their legal obligations based on her own experiences.

Her experiences when eating out (either planned or on-the-go) consistently results in minimal choice, high costs and a lack of knowledge when serving the restricted food allergen. Even large companies who have allergen policies within their Corporate Responsibilities Policies are making mistakes and do not take the food allergen customer seriously enough. This is supported by Hampshire based Trading Standardswho have highlighted these issues in recent high profile court cases, leading to prosecution for companies failing to deal with customers’ food allergy requests correctly.

There is a huge free-from community blogging on positive experiences but even more commenting on their negative experiences of eating out. With Caroline’s previous catering knowledge and personal experiences, she felt she could make a difference, and so the Food Allergy Training Consultancy was born.

What is the FATC trying to achieve?

To educate the food service industry in food allergy awareness including;

  • Understanding the different types of allergies
  • How to communicate information successfully with the customer and staff
  • Increasing their customer bases and customer loyalty (thus increasing profits).

What can FATC offer companies?

  • Menu advice through consultancy on how to provide for the food allergy customer
  • “Food Allergy Aware” training – how to manage the food allergen customer successfully
  • How to resolve cross contamination and storage issues
  • Free-from suppliers details
  • Contacts on free-from product development
  • Training in food hygiene, levels 1, 2 & 3, HACCP & Cleaning validation.

How can I find out more?

The FATC is hosting a one day conference to help educate the food service industry in the forthcoming changes in food labelling law. The details are:

Event:New Food Allergen Information Regulations – Is Your ‘Food Service Business’ Ready?

Date:Tuesday 22 October 2013

Venue:Novotel Southampton, 1 West Quay Road, Southampton, Hampshire, SO15 1RA

Agenda:

Free-from Showcase Exhibition:

Tickets: Early bird ticket £120.00 valid 16 August 2013

Standard ticket £150.00

Bookings:Link call 07732637292

Useful Sources:

Food Standards Agency

Trading Standards

Defra

European Commssion - New EU law on food information to consumers

Freefrom food Awards – Michelle Berriedale-Johnson

Anaphylaxis Campaign

Reading Scientific Services Limited


Created by FATC: July 2013