Nuts
and the Food Business
A minority of people are unfortunate enough
to suffer from a very acute allergy to nuts. This mostly seems to be an allergy
to peanuts and peanut products. A minute quantity of the nut can have rapid and
fatal effects unless medical aid is obtained very quickly - in fact a matter of
minutes.
Most deaths occur where people have eaten out
at catering establishments. It is these premises, where lists of ingredients
are not required to be displayed, where anaphylaxis sufferers are at most risk.
Non-prepacked food is also a major risk area.
There are steps you can take as an owner or
manager of your food business:
- Make sure your staff are aware of the
significance of the use of nuts and nut products - through training sessions,
notices, house journals, etc.
- If you use nut or nut oils in a recipe where
it is not clear from the name of the food or the list of ingredients that nuts
are present, find other ways of passing the information down the distribution
chain to the point of sale customer. Why not label it "contains
peanuts".
- If you cook food in nut oil or use oil in
which nuts have been coated, again, pass the information down the food chain.
- If you use nuts or nut oils in replacement of,
or substitution for, more general ingredients, it is vital that this is known
down the food chain.
- If you supply caterers, make sure that your
customers know which of your products contain nuts and remind them to retain
packaging that may contain important information.
- If you are a restaurateur or caterer, check
the complete recipes of all your products so that you can answer questions if
asked.
- If customers ask if there are nuts in a food
and you don't know, suggest that they try something else that you know does not
contain nuts.
For further guidance on matters relating to the
food industry see www.foodstandards.gov.uk
Please Note
This leaflet is not an authoritative
interpretation of the law and is intended only for guidance. For further
information please contact your local Consumer Protection or
Trading Standards office.
Trading Standards Division, 3rd Floor, Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Wallasey, Wirral CH44 8ED
Telephone: (0151) 691 8020 Fax: (0151) 691 8098
Internet World Wide Web http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/wirral/
Electronic Mail: tradingstandards@wirral.gov.uk
