2014 round up for the Food Allergy Training Consultancy - Wow What a year!

The new allergen labelling regulations finally became law on Saturday 13 December 2014, although there has been a lot of publicity we are still finding many food operation businesses unaware of the legislation which affects them. Some business think it’s all about gluten and if they don’t provide gluten free it won’t affect them, unfortunately it will affect any business whether you want to provide for the free from customer or not. So what are we doing to spread the word and inform them of their obligations....

Level 2 Food Allergy Awareness Qualification coming soon

Well,at the start of December we completed the resources which are part of Royal Society for Public Health’s (RSPH) NEW 1 day – Level 2 Award in Identifying and Controlling Food Allergy Risks. This qualification is suitable for the ‘Allergy Expert’ within businesses; It will cover the following areas in depth, and enables the attendee an insight into the food allergy sufferers world and understand their concerns when eating out of their home environment.

The course has five modules;

• Introduction to Food Allergies, Intolerance and Coeliac Disease
• The Regulations EU FIR 1169/2011
• The 14 Allergens and more besides ( Annex II)
• Cross Contamination – Areas of risk
• Communication and Customer Service

The qualification is due to be available from the end of January and we already have four training course booked for companies keen to be compliant under the new regulations. Trainers can apply to RSPH to be a training centre or trainers are welcome to FATC if they are interested in training under the FATC centre.

If you are interested in being a Trainer and/ or Consultant under the FATC banner, we will be arranging Train the Trainer courses early in 2015, in relation to the Level 2 qualification. If you are interested in more information, drop us a line at marketing@fatc.co.uk with a copy of your CV. Or give us a call for an informal chat.

CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Allergen Awareness Certificate

In addition to the RSPH training we are also able to offer the half day CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Allergen Awareness Certificate, Sally (STCC) is a registered CIEH centre and we are pleased to be able to offer this training option, giving you a choice for your business.

Contact us at consultancy@fatc.co.uk for more information on bespoke courses for your business or lookout individually registered courses on our events page.

Click herefor more information on on the CIEH Level 2 Award in Food Allergen Awareness qualification

Workshops – Allergen Labelling for Food Operation Businesses

In addition to the qualification we are running a series of workshops sponsored by Bidvest 3663 during January and February across the UK. These workshops are aimed at small businesses to help them understand their obligations under the regulations and offer tools to enable them to communicate their offerings to their customers. Take a look at our tool box here and download for FREE our excel matrix suitable for smaller businesses which helps you identify allergens in a simple cost effective format. 3663 account holders can attend with a 50% discount.

Find a date near you

• Newcastle
• Manchester
• Nottingham
• Wales
• Southampton
• London
• Scotland

Food Matters Live

From 18 – 20 November we exhibited and presented at the Food Matters Live 2014 show, the event was attended by over 10,000 visitors over 3 days and we were able to present within the freefrom seminar section on The future of the free-from trend.

Free From Eating Out Awards

The show was also the venue for the inaugural ‘FreeFrom Eating Out Awards’ and I am pleased to announce that our clients Hampshire County Caterers, (HC3S) jointly won the Schools, colleges and Universities category sponsored by Thomas Ridley. They were also runners up in ‘The overall winner of the 2014 inaugural FreeFrom Eating out Awards’ watch the video here (1:50-2:00)

Amanda Frost stated “HC3S is absolutely delighted to win the inaugural Free From Eating Out Award for Schools, Colleges and Universities. The award recognises our commitment to ensuring that we have an inclusive menu which does not exclude those young people who are required to eat a special diet due to a medical condition. To receive the Free From accolade is a real credit to everyone in HC3S, and very special credit must go to our superb Catering teams who make it all happen in the schools”

Evelyn Cook (HC3S) , Rachel Summers (Thomas Ridley), Antony Worrall Thompson, John Foskett, Amanda Frost (HC3S)

Universal Infant Free School Meals

September and October saw us on the road as part of the Universal Infants Free School Meals roadshow, we travelled across the UK speaking to school heads, caterers and bursars on the incoming new regulations and how schools need to ensure they include children with allergies, intolerance’s and coeliac disease in all school activities not just in the dining room. Feedback from event was positive with many asking for more information on products to help them provide for their students. From posts I have seen on social media, many primary schools are providing for the food allergy child, especially when they are entitled to a free meal, however, some of the smaller schools with independent catering are still struggling especially with the multiple allergy child.

We were also made aware that there are a large number of teachers with a basic lack knowledge on allergens, intolerance’s and coeliac disease and we are looking at initiatives to pass on the relavant information in the appropriate formats.

It is also becoming apparent that some secondary schools seem to be lacking in choices available for the food allergy child, they need to understand that this age group want to be seen as normal and accepted amongst their peers. They do not want to have to ask for special requests. HC3S work on the principle that they try to ensure all children are eating the same or similar food so as not to draw attention to any differences they may have. HC3S work closely with their suppliers to ensure they are able to offer a completely nut free menu for all sites, and some items are specifically sourced for example sausages, fish fingers, fish cakes, sauces and gravies which are all gluten free as appropriate. These items are served to all children so as not to differentiate.

Skills for Chefs 9-10 July 2014

We were invited to host a bite size food allergy awareness workshop at the Skills for Chefs event in Sheffield, the presentation was well received with a further invitation to give a full workshop in September to the College’s lecturers and catering department.

Training

Throughout the year we have been running both in-house and external workshops, with positive response from those attending, with further requests for the qualification when it comes online.

E-learning modules

we are working with a local company to develop sector specific modules on food allergy training, this will be available early in the new year. If you do not already receive our newsletter sign up here

We would like to thank all those businesses and colleagues who have supported throughout the year and we look forward to working with many more in 2015 to ensure that they are able to provide a safe meal for the food allergy, intolerant and coeliac customer.

Thank you for your support

Caroline and the team at Food Allergy Training Consultancy

@FoodAllergyAwar