May Contain – Precautionary Allergen Labelling
There is currently no standardisation of ‘May Contain’ precautionary allergen labelling which is confusing to many in the hypersensitive community.
Blanket statements are made that indicate that a product can contain ANY allergen.
This post links to the PAL (precautionary allergen labelling) consultation where anyone can input their opinions and which hopefully will result in clarity with regard to labelling of products that might contain an allergen. (By the way this should be determined by Risk Assessment).
To enable you to use PAL correctly use this checklist:
https://www.food.gov.uk/business-guidance/precautionary-allergen-labelling-checklist
Do you do the following?
- Train staff in ‘May Contain’ and what it actually means
- Ensure all staff dealing with food for an allergic customer know about them and that the food is treated carefully
- Provide food in separate boxes for takeaway or, if a home caterer or deli, for delivery or collection.
- Do use May Contain after carrying out a risk assessment (check your supplier information too).
Be aware that legislation may come in requiring a specific labelling format for May Contain or other areas following the end of the consultation.
Thank you for reading.
Karen Meadows of Safety in Action Ltd.
If you think I can help your business do call on 07786622741 or email on info@safetyinaction.co.uk
You can also find us on Twitter https://twitter.com/Safety_InAction or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SafetyInAction
Food Safety Consultant | Worcestershire | West Midlands | Hospitality