Running the centre
Allergens
Allergens are the substances that cause allergies or intolerances and that EU law requires to be declared: fourteen of them, from gluten to molluscs. A residence dining hall must be able to say which ones each dish contains, even when the food is served unpackaged.
Also known asthe 14 allergens · allergies · intolerances · allergen chart
What it is exactly
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 calls any establishment that prepares food ready to eat, such as a canteen or an educational institution, a mass caterer (Article 2(2)(d)), and requires allergens to be declared for unpackaged food too (Article 44(1)(a)). The closed list is in its Annex II. In Spain, Royal Decree 126/2015 says how: in writing on labels or signs, or verbally, as long as the information is held in writing or electronically at the establishment itself and can be consulted by staff, inspectors and anyone who asks for it (Articles 6(2) and 6(5)). It matters most for the packed lunch, where there is nobody to ask. How Bedel matches it against residents' records: allergens.
- Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut)
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Milk, including lactose
- Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts)
- Celery
- Mustard
- Sesame
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l)
- Lupin
- Molluscs
Worth knowing
What people take for granted: that writing "may contain traces" on everything is enough. Stating the possible unintentional presence of an allergen is voluntary (Article 36(3)(a) of the Regulation) and does not replace the mandatory information. And allergens do not have to be on the menu: Royal Decree 126/2015 accepts signs or verbal information, and if it is verbal, with its written or electronic record kept at the residence.
Sources
Related terms
- Packed lunchA packed lunch, in a residence dining hall, is the lunch or dinner the kitchen prepares to take away instead of serving it at the table, for residents who have class, a placement or an exam at that time. It is ordered in advance and replaces that meal's serving.
- Headcount forecastA headcount forecast is the estimate of how many people will eat at each sitting, built from who lives in the residence, who has said they will not come and how each day of the week usually behaves. It is the number the kitchen uses to decide how much to prepare.