UK care homes struggle with food allergen regulations

More than half of UK care homes find laws on allergens in food challenging to implement, according to a recent survey by Acquire Services.

The foodservice buying consultancy firm revealed that 53% of the care homes surveyed have had to significantly change the way they operate.

This includes updating policies and procedures, training staff and re-working menus following the introduction of the new food allergen laws in December 2014.

Ed Bevan, marketing and communications director for Acquire said: "Following the recent changes to allergen laws, care home caterers need to be aware of 14 allergens and while some are obvious, such as eggs, milk and fish, many allergens are hidden where you may least expect them. This means caterers need to be familiar with the constituents of every ingredient used in the kitchen."

"Extra staff may need to be recruited or current staff may need to be re-directed so they can manage the admin, as opposed to focusing on front-line services."

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