The following information features in ACS’ Assured Advice guide on managing food safety and hygiene. More information about Assured Advice and how to sign up to the scheme is available in the Advice section of the ACS website.
Retailers who provide a food to go service for customers must protect those customers that suffer from allergic reactions to food. There are 14 allergens covered by the law – they are:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten
- Crustaceans (crab, lobster, prawn, scampi etc)
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin (sometimes found in bread, pasta and pastries)
- Milk
- Molluscs (mussels, land snails, squid, whelks)
- Mustard
- Nuts
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Soya
- Sulphur dioxide, also known as sulphites (often contained in dried fruits, wine and other alcohol)
If you are sourcing food such as sandwiches, bread, cakes and savoury products locally, then the suppliers of these foods are responsible for putting the required information on a label on the food. If the food is not packaged (and therefore does not have a label attached) then the supplier must provide this information separately along with the food.
You MUST display this information in an obvious place so that customers are aware of what allergens are contained in the food.
If you are preparing food yourself to sell in the store (sandwiches for example) then you must either package the food and put a label on it showing what allergens are present, or signpost the consumer to the fact that allergens are present, using a notice, menu, chalkboard or information pack.
Further information about food safety is available here: https://www.acs.org.uk/advice/food-safety-and-hygiene/
