What you can expect from the school meals service
From 13 December 2014, the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulations (EUFIC) comes into force. The European rules will be enforced in the UK by the Food Information Regulations 2014 (FIR).
The EU legislation has listed 14 allergens that need to be identified if they are used as ingredients in a dish. As a food business serving non packaged foods, we have to supply information for every item on our menu that contains any of the 14 allergens as ingredients. Allergens include: cereals (containing gluten), peanuts, nuts, milk, soya, mustard, lupin, eggs, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, sesame seeds, celery and sulphur dioxide.
What does this mean for school meals?
We have signage in all serving areas stating:
“If you have a food allergy or food intolerance please let a member of staff know”.
An A4 visual reminder of the 14 allergens will be placed in the kitchen.
Catering Managers have a quick reference guide allowing them to quickly ascertain if a menu item has a particular allergen.
School kitchens will have full access to electronic recipes which will identify if they contain an allergen.
If a parent/pupil indicates a food allergy/food intolerance then they will be directed through the Special Diet Procedures.
Further information can be found on the Food Standards Agency website.
