Is your Menu meeting legal guidelines?

Food allergen labelling and information requirements under the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation No. 1169/2011: Technical Guidance 10th April 2015, Revision 1. Current revisions may be available from food.gov.uk

Guidance for businesses providing non-prepacked and prepacked for direct sale foods. For restaurants, cafés, fast food outlets, delicatessens, butchers, bakeries, institutional and other types of caterers.

With the big Brexit question mark looming (we won't even bother going near this political hot potato) we may be reviewing this article in the coming months/years if new legislation comes in. For now, however, you do need to be aware of a few points to make sure you're not accidentally snubbing the rules!

The information below provides guidance and best practice examples on the provision of allergen ingredients information for non-prepacked (such as meals served in a restaurant or café) and includes prepacked for direct sale foods (such as meals prepacked in a canteen for consumption on or off the premises, cheese or meat sold loose from a delicatessen counter, bread or pies sold at bakeries or meat and meat products at butchers and packed at the consumer’s request).

All mandatory allergen ingredients information (Article 9 (1) (c)) should be available and easily accessible for the consumer. The rules for non-prepacked food came into effect on 13 December 2014. Businesses should review ingredients information for foods provided by them and ensure that their suppliers provide them with the necessary information to meet their obligations. The requirements are based on the following articles: Article 8 on responsibilities. Article 9 on the list of mandatory particulars (see p11-12 for list of 14 allergens).

Articles 12 and 13 on availability and presentation of mandatory particulars. Article 21 on labelling of certain substances or products causing allergies or intolerances. Article 44 on national measures for non-repacked food. Article 14 on distance selling 75. Individuals who are not food businesses, for example those who occasionally provide food at charity events or voluntary cake sales, do not need to follow these requirements.