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Serving a safe meal

SERVING CUSTOMERS WITH FOOD ALLERGIES AND CELIAC DISEASE

People with food allergies or celiac disease are extremely loyal customers. Having a food allergy or celiac disease currently means for many people being restricted to eating only at home or at a very few places. So when these people find a place that can safely accommodate their needs not only they become regular and frequent customers, but they also make it the place to take their families and friends with them when eating out. Therefore, by just creating and ensuring that at least one dish and dessert is free from one or more allergens or from gluten, a restaurant could become a regular dining place for allergic and celiac customers, as well as their friends and families. And since the prevalence of food allergies and celiac disease is relatively high (please check our section on Facts and Figures) this means that you may be able to meet the needs of thousands of new customers.

But take food allergies and celiac disease very seriously, as even tiny and invisible traces of the food can be very harmful or cause a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction. Remember that it is not enough not to include the offending food in a particular recipe. If you serve gluten-free, nut and peanut-free, egg-free or any other allergen-free dishes, you must make sure this is true. So you must have procedures in place to always ensure that there is no cross-contamination from other dishes, working surfaces and kitchen utensils, that there are no hidden sources of the allergen in the food supplied to your establishment and that all your staff is aware of all procedures that need to be followed. Below is a suggestion list of the main procedures you should follow to ensure you are able to serve a safe meal to customers with food allergies and celiac disease. At the end of this list there are links to sources providing more information and training material.

INGREDIENTS

1. Be familiar with the common terms for allergens, such as ‘whey’ or ‘casein’ for milk, ‘albumin’ for egg, or Arachis for peanut.

2. Train staff to identify hidden sources of at least the most common allergens (such as gluten/wheat, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish and tree nuts (including almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, hickory nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts). Ingredients that can cause severe allergic reactions can be present in products where you did not expect them to be. One possibility is to have sheets on the wall for each allergen, describing in which products it might be hidden. At the end of this list there are links that are useful for you to identify hidden sources of the allergens.

3. Always consider all ingredients, not only those used directly in the dish, but also those used as garnish, as a topping or as a salad dressing. It is ideal to have a list with all ingredients that go into a dish.

4. Always check the ingredients of ready-made and processed food supplied to you. Check if the supplier is the same and if there were no ingredient changes, as manufacturers sometimes change ingredients. \'May contain\' warnings mean that it is possible that the product has come into contact with the potential allergen, so you should not use it as even small traces of an allergen can cause a severe reaction. If ingredients information is missing, inaccurate or hard to read call the supplier. If you do not have reliable information about the presence of a potential allergen, inform the customer.

5. Do not make product substitutions without warning serving staff and reflecting the change in the menu. Specifically, avoid all changes that include adding a potential allergen to the food. A customer used to eat a meal that would be otherwise safe will not ask whether the recipe has been changed.

6. Keep a copy of the ingredient information on labels of any ready-made foods you use, so they can be checked if a customer requests.

7. Always store foods separately in closed containers, especially peanuts, nuts, seeds, milk powder and flours.

FOOD PREPARATION AND COOKING

It is important that the chef and all kitchen staff know that even a minuscule amount of food can trigger a severe allergic reaction, so it is not enough to simply remove the food off a dish if it has already been prepared. Here are some procedures that should be followed to prevent that any dish is contaminated with ingredients from other dishes:

1. Do not share any utensils. All preparation tables, utensils, chopping boards, knives and other cutlery, containers, trays, pans, bowls and grills should be carefully cleaned with hot, soapy water before being used to prepare a dish for a food-allergic or celiac diner.

2. Hands should be washed before preparation of the meal, and clean aprons and kitchen towels used.

3. Do not use oils that have been used to cook or fry other foods. Even if you have separate fryers and separate oils for different ingredients, they may be contaminated if oils are filtered through a single filtration system.

4. Do not place the dish in the same oven, tray or grill or next to other dishes containing the allergen.

5. If you offer any allergen-free alternatives, prepare them first and wrap them to prevent contamination from other dishes.

6. If possible, keep separate areas for the preparation of allergen-free dishes.

7. Keep the safe meal separate from other dishes before serving it to the customer and have a procedure to make sure that orders are not mixed up.

8. Make sure that kitchen staff always tell serving staff about any recipe changes, particularly if foods that can cause severe allergic reactions are now being used in a dish.

MENUS

1. If a dish contains one of the main foods that can cause an allergic reaction, make sure to reflect it in the name of the dish or its description (for example: “chocolate mousse with almonds” instead of “chocolate mousse”).

2. Always update the menu when recipes change.

3. If the names of the dishes or their description contain words in a language other than the countries’ official language, provide a full translation.

4. Do not state on your menu that a dish does not contain a particular food if you have not taken all measures to ensure this is true.

5. Have a note on the menu encouraging food-allergic and celiac customers to inform the staff about their dietary restrictions.

SERVING CUSTOMERS

1. Make sure your staff pays close attention when guests say they have a food allergy or celiac disease and that they understand that these conditions must be taken seriously. Ideally, they should write down all recommendations made by the customer instead of relying in their memory

2. The chef and the kitchen staff should be always informed of any food allergies or restrictions communicated by the customer.

3. Servers should be able to describe a menu item and its ingredients upon request and where to find the information. Ideally, there should always be at least one person who can answer questions about ingredients. On some occasions it may be helpful to show customers the labels of the product so that they can judge whether it is safe or not.

4. The most important message to all serving staff is to always tell the truth and never guess. If they are not sure whether a food contains the allergenic food, if ingredient information is not available, or if the server is not sure that procedures to prevent cross-contamination were followed they should say so.

5. Servers should always double check with the kitchen staff every time someone asks for a meal free from a certain food that the food is really safe, as ingredients may change.

6. Servers should wash their hands before serving the safe food.

7. Make sure that your serving staff knows they should never simply remove the food that someone is allergic to from a dish that has already been prepared, as trace amounts - enough to cause a severe reaction – may be present.

8. Staff should be aware that foods in buffets, self-service areas and sweet trolleys may not be safe (even if they do not contain the offending food) due to the possibility of cross-contamination.

9. Although other conditions can have similar symptoms, if staff realize that a customer is having difficulty to breathe, the lips or mouth are swollen, or if they become unconscious they should call an ambulance immediately, describe the symptoms and stay with the customer until help arrives.

10. All staff must be trained before they start to work, whether they are going to work in the kitchen or serve customers.

A NOTE ON CELIAC DISEASE

People with celiac disease need to avoid gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. It is also good to avoid oats. Wheat is not only present in obvious food items, such as bread, pasta, pizza, pastry, cookies and cakes, but also in most processed foods, as soups and sauces, as well as hidden in products you would not expect, such as stock cubes, spices, gravy, soy sauce, burgers and sausages. Even tiny amounts of gluten can make a celiac ill. So all procedures described in the previous sections should also be applied in the preparation of a gluten-free meal. You can also have in your restaurant gluten-free versions of some products, such as gluten-free bread, gluten-free beer and gluten-free pasta, now available in many grocery stores (you could use our search system to look for stores offering gluten-free products in your neighborhood).

FURTHER TRAINING

Some associations offer training programs and materials, which can help restaurants and other caterers in being able to provide allergen-free and gluten-free meals. Here is a list of some links. If you know of any other program and would like to see it listed here, just let us know by filling our feedback form or writing to feedback ( at ) specialgourmets.com

Training on the Preparation of Allergen-free meals

1. Restaurant training program (Food Allergy Initiative)
2. Food Allergy Training Guide (developed by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, the National Restaurant Association\'s Health & Safety Regulatory Affairs Department, USA)
3. Advice for the Food industry (Allergy New Zealand)
4. Advice for caterers on allergy and intolerance (Food Standards Agency, UK).
5. Food Allergy Poster (International Food Information Council, Poster in English and Español)
6.Poster for Restaurants (Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network)