Raising food allergy awareness of caterers in Wales

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the progress of the Allergen Strategy for Wales intended to raise food allergen awareness of caterers in the principality.Design methodology approach - The Allergen Action Plan survey programme was examined to determine the progress made to date. Data...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nutrition and food science 2008-01, Vol.38 (5), p.417-421
Main Author: Worsfold, Denise
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Allergens
Allergies
catering
Catering industry
Contamination
cross contamination
Enforcement
Environmental health
Environmental health and safety
Food
Food allergies
food enforcement officers
Food safety
food service workers
health education
health information
Hygiene
Labeling
Meals
nutrition education
Peanuts
Polls & surveys
questionnaires
Risk assessment
Safety management
Training
training (people)
Wales
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Summary:Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to review the progress of the Allergen Strategy for Wales intended to raise food allergen awareness of caterers in the principality.Design methodology approach - The Allergen Action Plan survey programme was examined to determine the progress made to date. Data were collected by means of a literature search and questionnaire surveys of officers and trainers.Findings - The surveys suggest that food enforcement officers are well informed about some allergen management issues but other aspects such as cross contamination and staff training are less likely to be included on routine inspections. Hygiene trainers appear to be adequately informed to cover key messages on elementary hygiene courses for caterers. Allergen training for officers and materials for use by businesses have been produced which will help advance the Allergen Strategy.Research limitations implications - The surveys that are reported involved limited numbers of respondents.Practical implications - Although food enforcement officers are identified in the Allergen Strategy as those charged with raising the profile of allergens and allergy awareness, there is limited time for them to cover food allergen management issues during routine inspections. Hygiene trainers and the use of training materials from the Food Standards Agency are valuable resources that can help to advance the Allergen Strategy.Originality value - Although the Allergen Strategy is in the public domain there is limited published work on its progress to date and the preparedness of those charged with raising allergen management issues with a broad range of caterers.
ISSN:0034-6659
1758-6917
DOI:10.1108/00346650810906921