After another "breaking news" related to allergen in the hospitality world, I feel more and more sorry for the consumers having to face such a minefield when eating out.
It is time that the food and hospitality industry wakes up and really work together to provide a world-class service to its customers!
In my previous post, I spoke about the situation from a front-of-house employee who is given seconds to answer a query about allergen. Not an easy task to start with but when you add the complexity about cross-contamination and may contain, then the task of reading correctly any allergen grid and advising the customer correctly becomes really tricky.
It is time that proper and honest risk assessments are used in the hospitality industry to really make a clear decision on whether there is a genuine risk of cross contamination or not. Restaurants may serve fish dishes, but I do not expect seeing "may contain fish" in my ice-cream!
The situation is similar in manufacturing - defensive labelling is used too often as a "get out-of-jail" card and as a way to avoid making real efforts in segregating allergen and avoiding cross contamination.
It is becoming time to phase out the "may contain" and for manufacturers to really become accountable and responsible for the safety and quality of the food they produce.
Artisan producers and small manufacturers are so knowledgeable and proud of the products they make. I can help you ensuring that you do not need to hide behind a may contain and to challenge your suppliers to give you accurate information. Contact me on [email protected]