European Food Allergy Labelling Update for Corporate Flight Attendants

Allergens are a huge issue for anybody working in the food industry, including corporate Flight Attendants, given the scope of food handling duties they are tasked with.Are you aware recently in Europe there has been a massive regulation change on the labelling of food allergens? These regulations apply to our inflight caterers.

The newly introduced European Union law on Food Information for Consumers (FIRs) (Regulation (EC) No. 1169/2011 brought into force in the UK through Food Information Regulations 2014) place new and immediate demands on food business operators (our catering providers) to provide consumers with information about the possible 14 European Classification of allergens. How well are you inflight caterers standing up to the latest EU legislation on Food Allergens?

Providing accurate information on allergenic ingredients is extremely important because it allows consumers with allergies to decide on which foods are safe for them to eat.  In order to provide accurate information a food business will need to:

1. Know the ingredients used in food served or sold
2. Identify if any of the 14 major food allergens are included as ingredients
3. Consider the risk of cross-contamination
4. Record the presence of the 14 major food allergens in the food served or sold
5. Establish a procedure for dealing with allergen information requests
6. Ensure staff always provide complete and correct allergen information.

Food manufacturers and retailers have had to provide similar information on packaged food for years. The new regulation extends to businesses like restaurants, caterers and sandwich shop, all outlets that we purchase our inflight catering from that sell un-packaged food.

The regulations’ requirements will increase over the first three years:

1. Year 1: Food businesses will have to provide information on allergenic ingredients.
2. Year 2: Food businesses will have to provide the nutritional content of food served.
3. Year 3: Food businesses will have to display the origin of meat included in food served.

Within Europe there are 14 classifications of food allergens, do you know what at they are, and more importantly what foods they can be found in? Some allergens are not immediately obvious and can be found as trace allergens in unexpected food sources – which can be a huge problem when ordering catering for passengers with food allergies.

Food Allergies can range from being mild to extremely severe, in extreme circumstances they can cause severe anaphylaxis and death. Flight Attendants are food handlers and are legally responsible, and can be held accountable.   It is vital Flight Attendants have full awareness of the wider implications of allergens and necessary food safety practices to continue to offer a safe environment for our passengers

We are going to be running a number of free Food Safety workshops on targeted subjects, these are free however places are limited. Our first Workshop Food Allergies For Flight Attendants will be in London on the 22nd April. For registering your interest in attending please contact us on safety@corporateflighttraining.com or info@corporateflighttraining.com

Corporate Flight Training have developed the first food safety program for European based Corporate Flight Attendants – covering all aspects of EC regulations and EU food Safety standards. For further Details contact us here on info@corporateflighttraining.com.