With an estimated 1.5 million people in the UK living with a diagnosed food allergy (approximately 1-2% of adults and about 5-8% of children), caterers and food businesses are now required by law to provide customers with accurate information if any of the 14 main allergens are included in any of the food products they produce, sell or serve.
What are the 14 main allergens?
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten – including wheat (such as spelt and Khorasan), rye, barley and oats
- Crustaceans – such as prawns, crabs and lobsters
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin (a common legume also know as Lupini beans)
- Milk
- Molluscs – such as mussels and oysters
- Mustard
- Tree nuts – including almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Soybeans
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if they are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million)
Controlling Cross-Contamination in the Kitchen
Colour-coding your kitchen gives both you and the customer confidence that their allergy or other dietary requirement is being accommodated for; which is why our range of purple products make a great addition to any busy kitchen. The ‘back-of-house’ tools include a chopping board and squeeze bottle accessories specifically for use when handling ‘free-from’ ingredients, such as gluten-free produce, or any of the 14 allergens.
Introducing purple products in addition to already established colour coding techniques (HACCAP) is a simple solution that provides piece of mind for all.
Communicating For Front of House
Keep front-of-house staff and customers clued-up during service by highlighting allergens on the buffet table or on chef-prepped dishes. Use our purple melamine buffet tent to draw guests’ attention to specific platters, or add purple picks to specially-prepared plates to avoid confusion during table service.
Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free markers are also available.
For more information and pricing, please download our handy PDF guide to allergens and our purple products.
