Why I need to talk about allergens
I need to talk about allergens because unfortunately I find myself consulting with clients who run pubs, restaurants or cafés and I keep hearing well-meaning managers telling me the same thing:
they place the emphasis on the customer to tell them about their allergy.
Whilst the law and local authorities will agree that the customer is part of this situation, my disappointment lies with the business when I see poor policies about communication — which they feel are adequate.
The title should warn you — I need to get something off my chest — but before I do, let’s look at why businesses must take their customers’ allergies very seriously.
When communication goes wrong
The two links below show what can happen through poor communication. In one story, it ended up being catastrophic:
- Restaurant owner guilty of manslaughter of peanut allergy customer
- Dobson & Parnell restaurant fined
Imagine running a food business and your customer is dead hours later because of your policies or you simply forgot.
And I’m not talking about the fines, the damage to your reputation, or potential manslaughter charges — but how you would feel morally.
I feel my rant has started!!
The scale of the issue
In the UK, there are 14 major food allergens responsible for most allergic reactions. It’s estimated that over 2.6 million adults have food allergies.
About 10 deaths are reported each year in the UK from a severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis.
We offer the Level 3 Emergency First Aid course and ensure anaphylaxis is discussed so that your staff know how to assist a customer who may not be able to help themselves.
The law
Food Allergen Laws are basically about providing information to consumers.
Food Information Regulation 2014 (Reg 5) enforces businesses to provide information that is “readily discernible.”
Earlier I expressed my disappointment with food business owners encouraging customers to inform them of their own allergy. Often menus are used and say something like:
“Please consult a member of staff if you have any allergies.”
The number of times I see this in small font at the bottom of a menu while any food offers are in large print and obvious…
Time to do my rant voice:
“SERIOUSLY!! It looks like you are putting profit over safety.”
The 3 C’s of Allergen Safety
On food safety training courses, I teach the 3 C’s:
- Contamination
- Cleaning
- Communication
But since I’m having a rant, it’s:
Communication, Communication, Communication!
After all, if that one isn’t working, then good luck with the other two.
Communication
Front of house
Put simply, your communication should be focused front of house to staff and customers and back of house to staff and suppliers.
- Menus are typically used to communicate to customers and remind them to talk to staff about their allergy. Too often, the message is in small print — increase the font size and place it where people will actually read it (top left is prime).
- If your menu is packed with offers and the allergy message gets squeezed in, add a tent card instead. Make it stand-alone, easy to clean, and train staff to reset it after each customer.
- Use your staff to remind customers. While taking a drinks order or explaining ordering procedures, embed a reminder about allergies. For example: “Whilst you’re deciding what to choose from the menu, could I just draw your attention to this tent card?”
“If you need to talk to us about any food allergies, I’d be happy to help.” - For buffets, everything must have its own clearly displayed label.
How many seconds does it take to pull a pint of beer? That’s the amount of time you have to bring up the allergy question for any customer ordering food over the bar.
Unfortunately, I often get told businesses “don’t have time for that.”
Seriously? But you do have time to upsell a double gin or large wine.
Again — it sounds like profit over safety.
Also check your EPOS system — can it be programmed to list the ingredients in each meal?
Back of house
- Display a large recipe matrix on the wall with the 14 allergens listed and a tick against each meal if that allergen is present. Keep it updated with recipe changes.
- Use large print signs in dry stores and on containers: “Think Allergen!”
- Chef’s cards are great for communicating ingredients to front-of-house staff, so they can speak confidently to customers.
- When dealing with suppliers, audit them: check staff training, cleaning procedures, and contamination prevention. Investigate how they communicate recipe changes. Reputable suppliers should be transparent.
Training
Staff must have food safety training, and allergies should have been covered. However, if they only attended a half-day awareness course, this might not be enough. Training is an ongoing process and shouldn’t stop once staff have a certificate.
When I worked in hotel management, I would allocate a 15-minute slot during quiet time (typically between breakfast and lunch) for a staff huddle with 1 or 2 topics to discuss — often over coffee and treats.
Use this time to:
- Talk about allergies and responsibilities (placing tent cards, talking to customers, etc.)
- Ask staff questions to check understanding
- Capture attendance with signatures for your due diligence records.
It’s not just “a paper exercise” — it’s about building a safety culture.
Final thoughts
Let’s stop and think for a moment:
You created a Word document, captured the staff training in your team huddle, and spent 15 minutes on allergy procedures.
Was that worth it? Absolutely.
I hope you appreciate my message on the importance of communication with allergen controls.
Keep the conversation ongoing and it will become your normal.
Oh — and the answer to the beer question earlier?
10 seconds.