Top 6 Food Allergy Mistakes Foodservice and Hospitality Make (still in 2023).
In foodservice and hospitality, accommodating customers' diverse dietary needs, including food allergies, is now the norm. However, despite this, many establishments still fall short. Here, we outline the top 6 common mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Confusion About What You Can and Can’t Do:
One of the most common mistakes made in the industry is not having a communication strategy in place to help guests understand what can and can't be accommodated. It is crucial that your communication strategy helps guests make informed decisions. This not only contributes to limiting liability for you and your employees but also provides guests with more control and a better experience.
Strategies to reduce confusion:
Ensure you and your employees fully understand modified menu offerings ingredients, hidden ingredients, and possible substitutions.
Ensure you and your employees know what cross-contact prevention practices are used when preparing and serving orders.
Most importantly, have a plan to confidentially communicate this information to the guest so they have all menu, ingredient, preparation and service information to make an informed decision.
2. Overlooking Advisory Statements on Labels:
Ignoring advisory statements on food labels is one of the most overlooked food allergy safety steps in foodservice. These labels often include crucial information about potential hidden sources of allergens including advisory statements like, "may contain," "processed in a facility that also processes," or "made on shared equipment." These statements refer to potential sources of cross-contact during the manufacturing process that could cause a food allergy reaction.
Strategies for managing advisory statements:
Always read labels thoroughly, paying special attention to advisory statements.
Have a company policy to monitor advisory statements.
Include this information in your communication strategy as this too is an important element of informed decisions.
3. Inconsistent Supplier Ingredient Checks:
This error goes hand-in-hand with #2. Frequently, foodservice often neglects to have a policy in place for routine checks of supplier ingredients. This mistake can result in using products that may contain allergens.
Strategies for tracking supplier ingredients:
Create a policy to standardize the audit frequency of supplier ingredients.
Identify the person(s) responsible for ingredient tracking.
Create a communication strategy for your company and customers when changes in supplier ingredients are identified.
4. Inconsistent Testing of Staff Knowledge:
Food allergy safety awareness should not be a ‘one and done’ approach. Just like everything else in foodservice the key to implementation is consistency; regularly reinforcing critical concepts and best practices. Failing to routinely test staff's knowledge of company food allergy safety policies can lead to mistakes.
Strategies for testing staff food allergy safety:
Deliver food allergy performance tests for every front and back of house employee.
Take every opportunity to reinforce food allergy awareness before and during service.
Incorporate food allergy awareness in standard performance evaluations.
5. Inadequate Frequency of Cross-Contact Prevention:
In other words, not maintaining cross-contact prevention, 24/7. Preventing cross-contact needs to be practiced 24/7 whether or not the guest is present at the establishment. Failing to maintain cross-contact prevention around the clock could cause a reaction for a food allergy guest hours, even days after the cross-contact has occurred.
Strategies for maintaining 24/7 cross-contact prevention:
Reinforce cross-contact practices at every stage of service, every day, all the time.
6. Lack of Training for the Whole Team:
Establishments that rely on providing food allergy training only to managers increase the risk of mistakes. Trickle-down (from managers —> other staff) training leaves you exposed. There is only so much time in a manager's day and the rate of turnover in this industry makes it difficult for managers to train new staff.
However, when you automate food allergy training, managers spend time reinforcing important concepts instead of constantly retraining new hires.
Strategies for avoiding trickle-down food allergy safety training:
Everyone has a part to play in safety so ensure all front and back of house staff receive food allergy awareness training.
Ensure that employees complete training before their first day of work or before their next shift begins.
Empower managers to reinforce safety principles and practices instead of constantly retraining new hires.
By avoiding these common mistakes and implementing these strategies, it can help to reduce errors, minimize risk and improve experiences for guests and staff.
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