PRINTED COPY IS NOT CONTROLLED VERSION REFER TO

ARAMARK INTRANET FOR LATEST APPROVED ISSUE

SECTION NAME:
7.0 MANAGING SAFETY AND FOOD SAFETY
DOCUMENT TITLE:
7.18.4.9 SOP - MANAGING ALLERGENS IN FOOD
ISSUING DEPARTMENT:
SAFETY
DATE OF ISSUE:
OCTOBER 2012
REVISION NUMBER:
00
NAME OF AUTHOR:
SHABIR ALI.M,HSE ADVISOR
NAME OF APPROVER:
NEILL MURRAY,HSE MANAGER

Managing Allergens in Food
Introduction
An increasing number of people suffer from severe food allergies and food intolerances.
They will be worried about eating the food we prepare and serve because of fears of hidden
ingredients, cross contamination during preparation and food residues left on tables. At
ARAMARK, we will provide a service that includes safe preparation and service of food to
customers who suffer from food allergies and intolerances.
What Foods Trigger Food Allergies?
An individual can be allergic to any food but these are the major food allergens:
Milk and dairy products including butter and cheese
Eggs
Peanuts (also known as groundnuts or monkey nuts)
Crustaceans
Nuts (walnuts, almond, hazelnut, cashew, pecan, brazil, pistachio, macadamia, pine,
Queensland)
Fish
Shellfish (including mussels, crab and shrimps)
Soya and soya beans
Cereal containing gluten wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut and their hybridised
strains
Celery
Mustard
Sesame seeds
Lupin
Molluscs
Food additives sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrates of 10mg per kg or 10mg per
litre expressed as SO
2

ARAMARK Allergen Policy
ARAMARK will:
PRINTED COPY IS NOT CONTROLLED VERSION REFER TO
ARAMARK INTRANET FOR LATEST APPROVED ISSUE

SECTION NAME:
7.0 MANAGING SAFETY AND FOOD SAFETY
DOCUMENT TITLE:
MANAGING ALLERGENS IN FOOD
ISSUING DEPARTMENT:
SAFETY
DATE OF ISSUE:
OCTOBER 2012
REVISION NUMBER:
00

2
Implement standard operating procedures to minimise cross contamination risks
Identify foods by names which indicate ingredient content e.g. carrot and nut salad
Label products containing nuts or nut derivatives
Provide as much information as possible to customers to help them make their own
informed choice of meal, allowing them to see product labelling if they wish to
Provide No Nut Policy at a site when requested to do so by the client. In such
circumstances, it is not possible to guarantee that our food is completely free from traces
of nuts. We will, however, take all reasonable precautions to safeguard our food from
being accidentally contaminated by nuts, nut derivatives or any other types of food that
can cause an allergic response during production
Purchasing
Order from approved suppliers only. They will provide a list of ingredients on pre-packaged
products.
If purchasing loose or unpackaged patisserie or bakery items, obtain information about which
products contain nuts or nut derivatives.
Menu Development
The front-line, food service or food production manager or the head chef must authorise all
use of nuts in products.
Recipes and menu specifications must indicate if products contain nuts. Avoid use of nuts as
an ingredient where possible.
Preventing Cross Contamination in the Kitchen
All products containing nuts or nut derivatives to be stored away from other foods.
Identify storage containers for use with nut products by marking the container or using
coloured containers to ensure they are only ever used for nut products.
Always use clean sanitised equipment, utensils and surfaces for preparing food. Never use
equipment, utensils or surfaces that have been in contact with foods containing nuts for other
foods.
Wash hands after handling foods containing nuts.
Clean up spillages of nuts immediately, discarding cloths after use.
PRINTED COPY IS NOT CONTROLLED VERSION REFER TO
ARAMARK INTRANET FOR LATEST APPROVED ISSUE

SECTION NAME:
7.0 MANAGING SAFETY AND FOOD SAFETY
DOCUMENT TITLE:
MANAGING ALLERGENS IN FOOD
ISSUING DEPARTMENT:
SAFETY
DATE OF ISSUE:
OCTOBER 2012
REVISION NUMBER:
00

3
Taking an Allergy Sufferers Order or Questions
Advise the front-line, food service or food production manager or head chef
They must complete the order or answer questions
Customer to explain what foods they are allergic to and whether it is life threatening
Help customer to make informed choice of meal by providing as much information as
possible as is available
If unsure of any ingredient say so dont guess!
Talk through the steps the kitchen will take to prepare meal and ensure customer agrees
that this is satisfactory
Communicate clearly with the kitchen staff what action to take when preparing an allergy
sufferers meal, in particular that:
They wash their hands before they start preparing meal
They use clean sanitised equipment for preparing meal
They sanitise the preparation surface before preparing meal with a new cloth
Use only freshly opened containers for preparing the meal that have been checked
for the allergen
Prepare meal in isolation from others
When cooking, use freshly cleaned equipment or equipment that does not have the
allergen come into contact with it
Place meal on a freshly hand washed and sanitised plate dried with a paper towel.
Supply freshly washed and dried cutlery, glasses and crockery
Wash hands before handling plate
Serve meal immediately, ensuring staff are aware it is an allergy sufferers meal
If there is a break down in following this above at any time, discard food and start
again. Never take risks!
Labelling Foods
All foods for service to customers must be labelled to indicate it contains nuts or nut
derivatives either on menu (typed or chalk or wipe boards), on tent card next to food or actual
label on food.
The Food Safety Notice Nuts and other Allergies Message to Customers must be clearly
visible to all customers in restaurants or other points of food service.
PRINTED COPY IS NOT CONTROLLED VERSION REFER TO
ARAMARK INTRANET FOR LATEST APPROVED ISSUE

SECTION NAME:
7.0 MANAGING SAFETY AND FOOD SAFETY
DOCUMENT TITLE:
MANAGING ALLERGENS IN FOOD
ISSUING DEPARTMENT:
SAFETY
DATE OF ISSUE:
OCTOBER 2012
REVISION NUMBER:
00

4
Staff Training
Staff must be trained in this standard operating procedure and training recorded on personal
training records. Where sites operate no nut policy formal training must be given. Contact
the ARAMARK Safety Support Helpline for information and training support.
Sites Operating No Nut Policy
Some sites are requested to operate no nut policies particularly educational contracts with
young children. Where this is the case, the client must be advised that ARAMARK cannot
guarantee that our food is completely free from traces of nuts but that all reasonable
precautions will be taken to safeguard food from contamination by potential allergens as
detailed in this standard operating procedure.
If agency staff are employed on contracts operating no nut policy, they must be briefed on
this standard operating procedure and a personal training record kept. Where contract is
likely to extend to more than two weeks they must receive allergy training (available from the
ARAMARK Safety Support Helpline).

Key Actions
Food safety notice Nuts and Other Food Allergens must be displayed in food
production or preparation areas
Food safety notice Nuts and Other Allergies Message to Customers must be
visible to customers at point of service