A ‘one size fits all’ approach to providing allergen information is not appropriate for businesses serving unpackaged food outside of the home, according to an industry body.
UKHospitality said flexibility to provide allergen information based on the specific business operation should underpin new allergen guidance, which has just been consulted on by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
The FSA believes allergen information in pubs, restaurants, cafés and other out of home settings should ideally be provided both in writing and verbally, in a proposed evolution of the current system.
The new guidance, published in October, is voluntary and does not represent a change to the law, which still requires for allergen information to be provided either verbally or in writing, with the precise method left to the discretion of the individual business.
In its consultation response, UkHospitality highlighted the difference in operations that exist across the hospitality sector and how a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach would not be suitable.
“Our view is that flexibility to provide allergen information based on the business operation should underpin this document,” said CEO Kate Nicholls. “What works for a restaurant providing table service might not necessarily work for a small café serving takeaway coffee. The current guidance does, to an extent, recognise that fact, but we would urge them to make it a guiding principle.”
Nicholls stressed that keeping customers safe is the hospitality sector’s main priority. “There has been a significant focus on and investment in allergen management in recent years and further guidance for out of home businesses is positive,” she noted.
The trade body is also calling for the guidance to take a whole supply chain approach in order to improve the flow of information reaching hospitality businesses at the end of the supply chain.
“A perennial problem for hospitality businesses is the volatility that exists in the supply chain, with many kitchens having to regularly substitute products with new ingredients,” Nicholls explained. “Guidance for suppliers to actively inform hospitality businesses at the end of the supply chain if an ingredient or allergen has been substituted or added would be extremely useful in ensuring information is live and up to date.”
Earlier this year, FSA chair Susan Jebb wrote to ministers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as her counterpart at Food Standards Scotland, to share the view of the FSA board that the provision of both written and verbal allergen information becomes a legal requirement for unpackaged food sold outside of the home.
