Guidance for food businesses on allergy and intolerance
This guidance is designed to help food businesses provide information to customers who need to avoid certain ingredients because of an allergy. It includes general advice and information on allergy and intolerance and specific voluntary best practice guidance on pre-packed foods, loose foods and the food labelling rules.
Additionally, there are a number of other resources available that provide advice on food allergy, including Safer food, better business (SFBB) and a number commercial guidance notes produced, for example, by the British Retail Consortium and the Food and Drink Federation.
Food allergy training online
An interactive food allergy training tool can be found at allergytraining.food.gov.uk.
It highlights steps that should be followed to make sure good practice is used in the manufacture and production of food. It also offers practical advice to local authority food law enforcement officers (both food hygiene and food standards) and anyone wanting to learn more about food allergy, such as managers and staff in the manufacturing and catering industries.
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Advice for caterers on allergy and intolerance
It’s very important for all caterers to be aware about food allergy and to take it seriously. This is because when someone eats a food they are allergic to, even the tiniest amount, this can cause a very severe reaction called anaphylaxis
Allergen management and labelling for pre-packed foods
Best practice guidance on managing food allergens with particular reference to avoiding cross-contamination and using appropriate advisory labelling (e.g. ‘May Contain’ labelling).
Guidance on food allergen labelling legislation
These guidance notes on the food labelling legislation provide informal guidance on food allergen labelling for pre-packed foods. They aim to help manufacturers, retailers, caterers and enforcement authorities ensure consistent and transparent labelling.
Providing allergen information for non pre-packed foods
These documents provide voluntary best practice advice to help food retailers and caterers selling food that is not pre-packed provide allergen information on the food they sell.