Understanding the new food allergen rules

1. Chun-Han Chan Food Allergen Legislation & Risk Assessment Food Allergy Branch Understanding the new food allergen rules

2. The Impact of Food Allergy • The symptoms can include: • rashes (usually very itchy) • tingling sensation in the mouth • swelling of the lips, tongue, face and throat • difficulty breathing • diarrhoea • vomiting • abdominal cramps • and on rare occasions anaphylaxis

3. Food allergy figures The true burden of food allergy is estimated to be significantly higher than the hospitalisation figures might otherwise suggest

4. Food allergy ~1.92m people have food allergy in the UK (based on population of 63.1m). This figure excludes food intolerance. There is no cure, therefore need to observe avoidance • Read ingredient labels • Look out for hidden allergens

5. Food labelling is changing • Moving from General Labelling Regulation (2000/13/EC) to Food Information for Consumers Regulation (1169/2011/EC) • Three year transition period from the coming into force date – from 13 December 2014 new rules on allergen labelling shall apply • Existing requirements for pre-packed foods are retained – but new requirement to emphasize allergenic foods in the ingredients list • Introduction of new requirement to provide allergy information for unpackaged foods

6. Scope of the Regulation • Covers business operators at all stages of food chain concerning provision of information to consumers: • Food intended for the final consumer • Foods delivered by mass caterers • Foods intended for supply to mass caterers • Also applies to catering services provided by transport leaving from the EU Member States • airline catering • trains • boats / ships

7. Annex II – The big 14

8. Mandatory particulars • Article 9(1)c - Any ingredient or processing aid listed in Annex II, or derived from a substance or product listed in Annex II causing allergies or intolerances, used in the manufacture or preparation of a food and still present in the finished product, even if in an altered form • Article 9(2) - The specified allergenic foods to be indicated with words and numbers - they may additionally be expressed by means of pictograms or symbols

9. Article 12 & 13 Clarity and Legibility • For prepacked foods, mandatory information to appear directly on the package or on a label attached to it • Mandatory food information to be available and easily accessible for all foods • Mandatory information to be marked in a conspicuous place, be easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. It should not be hidden, obscured, detracted from or interrupted by other written or pictorial matter

10. Article 14 Distance selling • In the case of foods offered for sale by means of distance communication, mandatory food information to be available before purchase is concluded and to appear on the material supporting the distance selling or be provided through other appropriate means clearly identified by the food business operator • All mandatory information to be available at the moment of delivery

11. Article 21 Labelling of allergens • Allergens to be indicated in list of ingredients with clear reference to name of the substance or product as listed in Annex II i.e. whey (milk) • Allergenic ingredients to be emphasized through a typeset that clearly distinguishes it from the rest of the ingredients by means of the font, style or background colour • In the absence of a list of ingredients, the indication of the allergenic ingredients to comprise the word ‘contains’ followed by the name of the substance or product listed in Annex II • Where several ingredients or processing aids in a food originate from a single allergenic ingredient, the labelling shall make it clear for each ingredient or processing aid concerned

12. EU FIC Labelling

13. Article 21 continued • Where the name of the food (i.e. box of eggs, bag of peanuts) clearly refers to the allergen concerned, there is no need for a separate declaration of the allergenic food Use of Allergy Boxes • The voluntary use allergen advisory boxes to declare the presence of allergenic ingredients in prepacked foods are not permitted under the EU FIC • Allergen information found in a single and consistent place

14. Article 36 Voluntary information • The Commission has option to introduce new rules on the following voluntary information: • ‘information on the possible and unintentional presence in food of substances or products causing allergies or intolerances’ • Precautionary allergen warnings (“may contain”) can still be used for prepacked food and non-prepacked – to be applied after a thorough risk assessment and to communicate a real risk to the consumer • Permits the introduction of agreed phrases or allergen reference doses for the unintentional presence of allergens in prepacked foods

15. Article 44 non-prepacked food • A new requirement for allergen ingredients information to be provided for non-prepacked foods and food provided prepacked for direct sale • Foods are offered to sale to the final consumer or to mass caterers without pre-packaging, or where foods are packed on the sales premises at the consumer’s request or prepacked for direct sale, the provision of the information about allergenic ingredients is mandatory

16. Article 44 –non-prepacked foods cont’ • Oral provision also permitted, provided the business indicates clearly that such information can be obtained upon request. • Oral information must be accurate, consistent and verifiable upon challenge • What is consistent? Is there a process in place to enable consistent information to be provided? For example to refer queries to the nominated person(s) • What is verifiable? Ingredients information on a chart, recipe book, ingredients information sheets, scrap books with labels etc

17. Article 44 –non-prepacked foods • Could declare allergen ingredients information through a contains statement, charts, tables etc. • i.e. chicken tikka masala – Contains: milk, almonds (nuts) • Consider Article 12 and 13 on accessibility of mandatory information - Marked in a conspicuous place, easily visible, clearly legible • Signposting is required when information is not provided written and upfront. It should be where consumer would expect to find allergen information e.g in a folder, on menu board, at till or on the menu card Food Allergies & Intolerances Before you order your food and drinks please speak to our staff if you have a food allergy or intolerance

18. Providing allergen information

19. Article 44 – non-prepacked food • How are dietary requests communicated from front to back of house? e.g. use of chef cards, order tickets, receipts • Preparing foods for allergic consumers- what process is in place • Is the business observing Safer Food, Better business (SFBB) “Safe Method: Allergy” • Are they making specific claims i.e. gluten free • Consider how this claim is verified or validated • Would no gluten containing ingredients (NGCI) statement be better?

20. Regular reviews, keep it current Food businesses need to have processes in place to ensure the information they provide is accurate • Regularly review the ingredients information • Where ingredients change, review the accuracy of the recipe • Do garnishes or dressings change the allergenic profile of the meal? Check! • Accuracy is dependent on the information on labelling, updating allergen information for dishes, updating staff and consumers

21. Communication is key • Think about the chain of communication • The person buying the food • The person handling the food • The person taking the order • The person ordering the food

22. Communication is key • Engage with serving staff • Recipes change • Ingredients change

23. Cross contamination with allergens • The unintentional presence of allergens is not covered under the EU FIC. This is covered under the Food Safety Act and General Food Law. • Regulation No. 178/2002 General Food Law: Article 14, 2a. Food shall be deemed to be unsafe if it is considered to be injurious to health • Article 14, 3b In determining whether any food is unsafe, regard shall be had to the information provided to the consumer, including information on the label, or other information generally available to the consumer concerning the avoidance of specific adverse health effects from a particular food or category of foods

24. E- learning Access free training on: http://allergytraining.food.gov.uk/

25. SFBB – allergy safe method http://multimedia.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/foodallergies-sfbb-0513.pdf

26. Statutory Instrument • Food Information Regulations 2014 – to be published by July 2014 • An offence has been committed for failure to comply with allergen provisions • To outline functional working arrangements for LAs • Government Guidance to support Regulation to be issued on GOV.UK ~ July 2014 • FSA allergen guidance to support SME’s to be issued on www.food.gov.uk ~ July 2014

27. Changes to enforcement • Broadening responsibility • Unitary authorities and London boroughs, employ both TSOs and EHOs  - up to them whether they use one or other or both to enforce the UK Food Information Regulations (FIR).  This will be in most cases EHOs where there is involvement with non-prepacked food but in some cases it will be TSOs – it depends on the arrangements locally • Where responsibility is split into two tiers, to extend the responsibility of second tier (district councils) to include allergens checks under FIR in England

28. Changes to enforcement (2) • FIR will introduce • Improvement notices – outlines necessary changes to reach compliance, timebound • First tier tribunals – businesses to challenge / appeal IN’s • Criminal sanctions for breaches in food allergen provisions – food safety • EHOs / TSO’s to help educate the food businesses and to maximise the opportunities of LAs to talk to businesses

29. Further information • FSA allergy pages: http://food.gov.uk/policy-advice/allergyintol/ • Revised advice and leaflets for SME’s to be issued by May 2014 • Allergy E-learning http://allergytraining.food.gov.uk/ released December 2013 – suitable for businesses • Allergy chef card: ttp://multimedia.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/chefcard.pdf • Safer Food Better Business for Caterers – Food allergies http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/foodallergies-sfbb-0513.pdf • General FIR guidance to be found on GOV.uk ~ May 2014 • Consumer advice http://food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/publication/allergy-leaflet.pdf • BRC-FDF guidance for prepacked foods http://www.brc.org.uk/downloads/Guidance%20on%20Allergen%20Labelling.pdf

30. Thank you for listening Email: chun-han.chan@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk