With the impending changes to food labelling for the foodservice industry, Unilever Food Solutions has launched a new service to help you comply with food allergy information regulations.
The ‘Allergen and Diets Guide for Professional Catering’ is a free-to-download interactive iBook that provides a comprehensive guide to the new legislation and what it means for operators and their guests.
The changes are coming from mid-December this year due to a new regulation adopted by the European Parliament in 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers. By the end of the year it will become the responsibility of the foodservice industry to provide information on any of the 14 food allergens.
The new rules will require that all food allergens be highlighted by name in the list of ingredients as well as on foods that are sold loose or eaten out of home. These include meals served in restaurants and canteens, food sold in retail outlets, food packed on the sales premises or, at the consumer’s request, in takeaways, deli counters, supermarkets, butchers and food stalls.
Welcoming he launch of the new service, Jim Reeves, customer director at Unilever For Solutions, said: “The new legislation regarding food labelling and allergens is sure to present the foodservice industry with genuine challenges. While it has yet to be determined how allergen information will eventually be presented to consumers, what is certain is that guests will have to be made aware of what allergens are present in the food they are costuming, whether loose or eaten out of home. Recognising the potential challenges, we created the ‘Allergen and Diets Guide for Professional Catering’ to support the foodservice industry.”
www.ufs.com/allergens.
