Why do food allergens matter?

Food Allergies are serious. Some people experience an adverse reaction e.g. anaphylactic shock when exposed to allergenic ingredients in certain foods. Severe reactions will require emergency expert help from a trained paramedic, often using injectable adrenaline.

Getting it wrong with allergenic ingredients can be dangerous and, in some cases, life-threatening. 

Understanding the ingredients used, providing accurate information about the foods produced and having correct food labelling is critical; you should be doing all you can to produce safe food and keep your customers from danger.

Please use all of our free information to give you peace of mind that you are complying with the relevant legal requirements and keeping your customers safe from harm.

To gain a more in-depth understanding of allergens, please check out our Allergen Awareness training course. This course has been developed by industry experts and provides vital information on allergens. Upon completion of the course you will be confident that you and your staff are complying with UK allergen laws and doing everything possible to keep your customers safe. 

How to Trade Legally:

Allergen management – what are EHOs looking for?

Allergens are of paramount importance during a food hygiene inspection, but what exactly will an EHO be looking for?

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Nutrition labelling guidance

Do you sell pre-packed foods in large quantities? Are you already providing nutrition information on your labelling? Make sure you comply with nutrition labelling legislation.

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NCASS Safety Management System

Our Safety Management System includes a dedicated section on allergen management as well as resources to enable you to mitigate risk when it comes to managing allergens. 

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Pre-Packed for Direct Sale (PPDS / Natasha’s Law)

Prepacked for Direct Sale (PPDS/Natashas Law)  – The labelling requirements for PPDS foods were introduced through Natasha’s law and have been a requirement since October 2021.  For further guidance read here.

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Your Guide to Natasha’s Law (PPDS)

Your guide to Natasha law (PPDS) – we have teamed up with the FSA to guide you through the requirements and explain what you need to do to comply with the rules in this handy video discussion.

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FSA Allergen Guidance

The Food Standards Agency has updated its Technical Guidance on Food allergen labelling. This includes details of the new labelling requirements for Food Prepared for Direct Sale (PPDS).

What are the updates?

The FREE Allergen Toolkit

The NCASS Allergen Toolkit tells you all about the law & what you need to do to trade legally.

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Your Allergen Matrix

The Allergen Matrix is your one stop shop for keeping on top of your allergens.

 

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What are the 14 allergens?

Food traders have to be able to tell customers which of the 14 specified allergens are resent in their menu items’.

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NCASS TV: Allergen video

Bob runs you through everything you need to know about the 14 major allergens.

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‘Free-from’ labelling guidance

Want to know how to make
‘free-from’ allergen claims? Read this!

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General labelling requirements

Labelling requirements depend on how and where food is sold. Read this!

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