Kitchen and service controls

Good control starts at delivery. Check that what arrived is what you ordered, and read the label on anything new. Keep ingredients in their original packs, or in closed, labelled containers. Store allergen ingredients apart from other food, so that a spill cannot reach anything else.

When you make food for someone with an allergy, follow the same steps each time. Clean the work surface. Use clean utensils, boards and pans. Wash your hands thoroughly. Change your apron, and your gloves if you wear them. Take ingredients from closed containers, not from open tubs that others have used. Make the dish away from other food. Then cover it, label it and hand it to the server directly.

You can keep food apart by space or by time. Space means a separate area of the kitchen. Time means making the allergy order first, or after a full clean. Never cook gluten-free chips in oil that has been used for battered fish. If you only have one fryer, tell the customer.

If something goes wrong, start again. Never pick off nuts, scrape off sauce or swap a bun and then serve the same food. The allergen stays behind.

Claims on menus are promises. 'Gluten free' means 20 mg/kg of gluten or less, and 'very low gluten' means 100 mg/kg or less. A 'free from' claim tells customers that the food is suitable for people with that allergy or intolerance. If you cannot keep the food apart by time and space, do not make the claim. Vegan does not mean allergen free. Vegan food can still carry traces of milk or egg, so make that risk clear.

'May contain' statements are voluntary. Use one only when a risk assessment finds a real risk of cross-contact that you cannot control. Name the allergen. Do not use a blanket statement to cover every dish, because it can mislead customers and limit their choice.

Allergen controls belong in your food safety management system. That may be Safer Food, Better Business in England and Wales, Safe Catering in Northern Ireland, or CookSafe or RetailSafe in Scotland.