Posted on Thursday 6th October 2022
Staffordshire County Cllr Victoria Wilson
Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards service is expanding their series of free guides being made available to takeaways, cafés, street food stands and other food businesses.
The resources are designed to help businesses understand the rules and their duties around food allergen and ingredients labelling.
Materials are also being made available in a range of different languages and include information on legal requirements, the 14 allergens required to be declared by law and food labelling rules for food prepacked for direct sale. Other topics include details on the allergic reactions people can have and what it’s like to live with a food allergy.
Victoria Wilson, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Trading Standards at Staffordshire County Council said:
“Anyone eating in a restaurant, bar or takeaway has the right to receive allergen information, either in written format or verbally. This should include the name of the food and a full list of ingredients, with any of the 14 major allergens emphasised in the list.
“Helping make sure that businesses know what is required of them when it comes to allergy awareness is essential in helping keep customers safe. With an estimated two million plus people living with a diagnosed food allergy in the UK, it’s an important area of work for our Trading Standards service.
“We hope that The new resources and languages will help make allergen training more accessible as well as promoting the importance of a positive food safety culture.”
The resources were created by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute following the introduction of Natasha’s Law which was brought in to protect allergy sufferers and give them confidence in the food they buy. Natasha’s Law requires all food outlets to provide full ingredient lists with clear allergen labelling on Pre Packed for Direct Sale foods (PPDS).
Businesses can find out more about the resources and download them at: https://www.tradingstandards.uk/practitioners/food-allergen-resource?utm_source=JTSSolusEmail&utm_medium=jtssolusemail&utm_campaign=JTSSOLUSEMAIL