PRINTED COPY IS NOT CONTROLLED VERSION –REFER TO

ARAMARK INTRANET FOR LATEST APPROVED ISSUE

SECTION NAME:

7.0 MANAGING SAFETY AND FOOD SAFETY

DOCUMENT TITLE:

7.18.4.9 SOP - MANAGING ALLERGENS IN FOOD

ISSUING DEPARTMENT:

SAFETY

DATE OF ISSUE:

OCTOBER 2012

REVISION NUMBER:

00

NAME OF AUTHOR:

SHABIR ALI.M,HSE ADVISOR

NAME OF APPROVER:

NEILL MURRAY,HSE MANAGER

Managing Allergens in Food

Introduction

An increasing number of people suffer from severe food allergies and food intolerances. They will be worried about eating the food we prepare and serve because of fears of hidden ingredients, cross contamination during preparation and food residues left on tables. At ARAMARK, we will provide a service that includes safe preparation and service of food to customers who suffer from food allergies and intolerances.

What Foods Trigger Food Allergies?

An individual can be allergic to any food but these are the major food allergens:

Milk and dairy products including butter and cheese

Eggs

Peanuts (also known as groundnuts or monkey nuts)

Crustaceans

Nuts (walnuts, almond, hazelnut, cashew, pecan, brazil, pistachio, macadamia, pine, Queensland)

Fish

Shellfish (including mussels, crab and shrimps)

Soya and soya beans

Cereal containing gluten – wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut and their hybridised strains

Celery

Mustard

Sesame seeds

Lupin

Molluscs

Food additives sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrates of 10mg per kg or 10mg per litre expressed as SO2

ARAMARK Allergen Policy

ARAMARK will:

PRINTED COPY IS NOT CONTROLLED VERSION –REFER TO

ARAMARK INTRANET FOR LATEST APPROVED ISSUE

SECTION NAME:

7.0 MANAGING SAFETY AND FOOD SAFETY

DOCUMENT TITLE:

MANAGING ALLERGENS IN FOOD

ISSUING DEPARTMENT:

SAFETY

DATE OF ISSUE:

OCTOBER 2012

REVISION NUMBER:

00

2

Implement standard operating procedures to minimise cross contamination risks

Identify foods by names which indicate ingredient content e.g. carrot and nut salad

Label products containing nuts or nut derivatives

Provide as much information as possible to customers to help them make their own informed choice of meal, allowing them to see product labelling if they wish to

Provide „No Nut Policy‟ at a site when requested to do so by the client. In such circumstances, it is not possible to guarantee that our food is completely free from traces of nuts. We will, however, take all reasonable precautions to safeguard our food from being accidentally contaminated by nuts, nut derivatives or any other types of food that can cause an allergic response during production

Purchasing

Order from approved suppliers only. They will provide a list of ingredients on pre-packaged products.

If purchasing loose or unpackaged patisserie or bakery items, obtain information about which products contain nuts or nut derivatives.

Menu Development

The front-line, food service or food production manager or the head chef must authorise all use of nuts in products.

Recipes and menu specifications must indicate if products contain nuts. Avoid use of nuts as an ingredient where possible.

Preventing Cross Contamination in the Kitchen

All products containing nuts or nut derivatives to be stored away from other foods.

Identify storage containers for use with nut products by marking the container or using coloured containers to ensure they are only ever used for nut products.

Always use clean sanitised equipment, utensils and surfaces for preparing food. Never use equipment, utensils or surfaces that have been in contact with foods containing nuts for other foods.

Wash hands after handling foods containing nuts.

Clean up spillages of nuts immediately, discarding cloths after use.

PRINTED COPY IS NOT CONTROLLED VERSION –REFER TO

ARAMARK INTRANET FOR LATEST APPROVED ISSUE

SECTION NAME:

7.0 MANAGING SAFETY AND FOOD SAFETY

DOCUMENT TITLE:

MANAGING ALLERGENS IN FOOD

ISSUING DEPARTMENT:

SAFETY

DATE OF ISSUE:

OCTOBER 2012

REVISION NUMBER:

00

3

Taking an Allergy Sufferer’s Order or Questions

Advise the front-line, food service or food production manager or head chef

They must complete the order or answer questions

Customer to explain what foods they are allergic to and whether it is life threatening

Help customer to make informed choice of meal by providing as much information as possible as is available

If unsure of any ingredient say so – don‟t guess!

Talk through the steps the kitchen will take to prepare meal and ensure customer agrees that this is satisfactory

Communicate clearly with the kitchen staff what action to take when preparing an allergy sufferers meal, in particular that:

They wash their hands before they start preparing meal

They use clean sanitised equipment for preparing meal

They sanitise the preparation surface before preparing meal with a new cloth

Use only freshly opened containers for preparing the meal that have been checked for the allergen

Prepare meal in isolation from others

When cooking, use freshly cleaned equipment or equipment that does not have the allergen come into contact with it

Place meal on a freshly hand washed and sanitised plate dried with a paper towel. Supply freshly washed and dried cutlery, glasses and crockery

Wash hands before handling plate

Serve meal immediately, ensuring staff are aware it is an allergy sufferer‟s meal

If there is a break down in following this above at any time, discard food and start again. Never take risks!

Labelling Foods

All foods for service to customers must be labelled to indicate it contains nuts or nut derivatives either on menu (typed or chalk or wipe boards), on tent card next to food or actual label on food.

The Food Safety Notice „Nuts and other Allergies – Message to Customers‟ must be clearly visible to all customers in restaurants or other points of food service.

PRINTED COPY IS NOT CONTROLLED VERSION –REFER TO

ARAMARK INTRANET FOR LATEST APPROVED ISSUE

SECTION NAME:

7.0 MANAGING SAFETY AND FOOD SAFETY

DOCUMENT TITLE:

MANAGING ALLERGENS IN FOOD

ISSUING DEPARTMENT:

SAFETY

DATE OF ISSUE:

OCTOBER 2012

REVISION NUMBER:

00

4

Staff Training

Staff must be trained in this standard operating procedure and training recorded on personal training records. Where sites operate „no nut policy‟ – formal training must be given. Contact the ARAMARK Safety Support Helpline for information and training support.

Sites Operating ‘No Nut Policy’

Some sites are requested to operate „no nut‟ policies particularly educational contracts with young children. Where this is the case, the client must be advised that ARAMARK cannot guarantee that our food is completely free from traces of nuts but that all reasonable precautions will be taken to safeguard food from contamination by potential allergens as detailed in this standard operating procedure.

If agency staff are employed on contracts operating „no nut‟ policy, they must be briefed on this standard operating procedure and a personal training record kept. Where contract is likely to extend to more than two weeks they must receive allergy training (available from the ARAMARK Safety Support Helpline).

Key Actions

Food safety notice „Nuts and Other Food Allergens‟ must be displayed in food production or preparation areas

Food safety notice – “Nuts and Other Allergies – Message to Customers” must be visible to customers at point of service