Allergen Awareness

ARE RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE DOING ENOUGH?

Article by Richard F Stier.

Richard F. Stier

Food allergens and allergen awareness are hot buttons in the world of food safety. Allergen management is an integral part of the Preventive Controls regulation found in 21 CFR 117 and in spite of this, recalls due to allergens have trended upwards for the past 20 years. The bottom line is that allergen management is now an integral element in the food safety management systems (FSMS) of food processors in the United States and throughout a large part of the world.

However, there is another industry out there where allergen management could well be improved; the foodservice and restaurant industry. This issue was brought to the forefront several years ago when I attended a meeting of TC 17, the committee that developed and is charged with reviewing the ISO 22000 food safety standard, “Food Safety Management Systems — Requirements for Any Organization in the Food Chain.” We sat down for dinner one evening and when looking at the menu, we noted that each item on the menu defined what food allergens were in that product. So, being food safety people, we started looking for the items that contained the most allergens (See Figure 1).

None of us had seen anything like this in the United States. There is the occasional restaurant that mentions that an item contains a food allergen, but such operations are the exception rather than the rule. The best allergen management program that I have ever seen was developed by a private school that was feeding over 1,000 children per day. They used the Al-Aware tags to introduce the students to allergens and tagged each menu item with the name of the allergen and the colored Al-Aware tags. In addition, they actually introduced the program in the classrooms, so they brought the system directly to the children. The foodservice manager even designed and patented holding trays that were designed to minimize the potential for cross-contact.

Servers in this country are generally rather poorly educated when it comes to allergen awareness. I say generally because there are some persons and restaurants that knowledgeable and have made the effort to make sure their servers are properly educated about food allergens. A few years back, I was having dinner with friends at local restaurant. The restaurant was featuring shank of wild boar that evening. One of my friends and I ordered it, but the friend stated that soy was a concern with her. The server thought that there might be a problem. He checked with the kitchen and confirmed that part of the marinade was soy sauce, so our friend had to order something else and glowered at me as I enjoyed the boar shank. Unfortunately, not all servers are this good nor are restaurants so diligent.

So, the bottom line is “Maybe we should look at what Europe is doing.”

EUROPEAN RESTAURANTS AND ALLERGEN AWARENESS

I want to state that this is not a scientific evaluation, but the comments of a food scientist who has the opportunity to travel throughout the European Union and enjoy the food all over. I have also had the opportunity to look over menus and talk to the restaurant owners about allergen management.

Thanks to the people at FARRP or the Food Allergen Research and Resource Program, I was able to obtain copies of the European Union regulations governing allergens. There are specific regulations for foods that are not pre-packaged, that is, foods served in restaurants, canteens or cafeterias. As many of you probably already know, the EU has defined fourteen food allergens.

These are:

· Egg · Gluten · Soy · Fish · Crustacean Shellfish · Tree Nuts · Peanuts (Ground Nuts) · Milk · Molluscan Shellfish · Lupin

· Sesame · Sulfites · Sesame · Mustard

There are various ways that operators may comply with these regulations. These are;

1. Ensure that each menu item that contains allergens properly references the allergen or allergens that they contain

2. Establish a table shows all menu items and the allergens that they contain

3. Post a conspicuous announcement that the restaurant sells foods that contain food allergens and sensitive customers should ask their servers about the foods being served.

Let’s look at these three means of complying with the EU regulations. We have already seen an example of the first means of compliance, the menu from the Irish restaurant. Note that in this case, each of the fourteen (14) allergens are color coded and numbered. Sensitive persons can cross-reference what these numbers or colors mean by checking the master list found at the back of the menu. Figure 2 shows a menu from the Sud Tirol. This particular menu is slightly different from the Irish in that each allergen is defined by a letter rather than a number and color. There is, however, a master list that allows patrons to cross-reference what allergens the different offerings contain.

This kind of menu has pros and cons. It allows restaurant patrons to easily understand what allergens are found in each item on the menu, but it places a burden on restaurant owner or operator. Every time there is a menu change or update, the menu will have to be re-done. This can be a real issue with restaurants in tourist areas that change menus with the seasons. They have the option to print addendums that can be provided to customers with the main menu, but it does add costs. It can also stifle creativity in the kitchen as chefs will need to clear menu items in advance and be sure that new items that contain potential allergens will be properly flagged.

The second option is for restaurant operators to put together a table that lists all menu items on one axis and the fourteen (14) allergens on the second axis. The allergens in each item are checked marked with an X or a check. This style may be seen in Figure 3. The advantage of this format is that the restaurant can put together a master list of not only what they are serving but what they might be serving. It will, however, entail reprinting menus.

Both of these formats are easy for customers, especially potential patrons who are sensitive to certain foods, to check the menu and select foods that they can safely consume.

The final option is the most complex as it relies on competent servers and observant customers. The restaurant is required to post signage in a visible location in the restaurant or within the menu that the foods that they are serving may contain food allergens. The signage must also state that customers should ask their servers about potential allergens. This requires servers that know the menu and can answer any questions with regards to the presence of allergens. On the whole, a server in a European Union restaurant is probably educated with regards to food allergens than a comparable person in the United States. This is, in part, a function of how they do business. Servers in Europe are generally paid better than in the United States and are able to make a living wage as a server.

There are also other materials available to restaurant operators that they can use to augment their allergen management programs. Wiberg Gmbh, an Austrian company, has developed an allergen awareness document that I have seen in both menus throughout the European Union and posted in the restaurants themselves. This document may be seen in Figure 4. This chart has also been modified so that it is used as a Master List such as was described earlier. Each item on the chart is assigned a number or letter and the menu items are flagged appropriately. Wiberg is not the only company that has prepared such a document.

SUMMARY

So, can we do better here in the United States? The answer is definitely. There will be challenges, however. One of those is how restaurants and foodservice are regulated. Individual states and counties or cities within those states establish and enforce regulations differently. What works in one district might not be allowable in a neighboring district. Hopefully, this has both informed and made you think.

Article by Richard F. Stier

Richard Stier is a consulting food scientist who has helped food processors develop safety, quality and sanitation programs. He believes in emphasizing the importance of how these programs can help companies increase profits. Stier holds degrees in food science from Rutgers University and the University of California at Davis. He is a Contributing Editor for Food Engineering.