Allergen advice from Poppleston Allen

The issue which arose was the presence of peanuts in mustard which had been secured from a particular source.  There is, indeed, now a warning on the FSA’s website as a result. 

It may well therefore be a useful element of an operator’s due diligence to regularly check communications from the FSA as the world of allergens is complex, and sometimes apparently innocuous foodstuffs can contain potentially troublesome elements.

Detrimental impact 

Awareness of allergen-related issues has risen substantially over the last few years with some highly publicised cases involving fatalities as a result of allergic reactions. 

One can only imagine the detrimental impact to a business of having an unfortunate event of that nature associated with the business. 

It is, however, not only the adverse publicity and detrimental impact upon trade which operators need to worry about.

Should an allergen-related issue occur, even if not so serious as to result in a death, then an investigation will surely follow in the same manner as it would in the case of a mice infestation in a kitchen.

Scrutiny will be applied to all of the operator’s relevant systems, including the food safety policy itself, training of staff and the clarity or otherwise of any allergy related communication to customers.

Traumatic experience 

No operator wants to go through the undeniably traumatic experience of being subjected to an interview under caution and if failings are found then a prosecution will surely follow.

For a number of years now, enhanced sentencing guidelines have been in place, making significant fines for food safety related offences much more commonplace. 

The underlying purpose of those guidelines was to “send a message to the board” and therefore such fines can amount to a death knell for the business, together with another round of adverse publicity.

• Graeme Cushion​ is a partner at Poppleston Allen​​​