Natasha’s Law

[Chris Corby]

As you know, Natasha’s Law, or the Food Information (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2019, which comes into force in October 2021, will make it a legal requirement for food retailers and operators to display full ingredient and allergen labelling information on all pre-packed food items.

In addition to the food labelling issues, the emergence of Natasha’s Law has underlined the importance of always checking with café/restaurant customers if they (or anybody in their party) has any special dietary requirements or is allergic to any particular foods or food additives.

It has been suggested by several users, who operate self-service style café/restaurants, that when a customer orders any items requiring preparation in the kitchen, the ‘order taker’ should be prompted, prior to receiving payment, to ask the question “Do you or anybody in your party have any dietary preference or any allergies?”. If the answer is yes, the ‘order taker’ can then have an informed discussion with  the customer regarding the contents of the dish and allergens and avoid any negative repercussions.

Please let us know how you feel about this proposal, and how you think that it could be designed to ensure that, so far as it is possible, any issues regarding allergens are addressed.

Chris

[Author]

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