Allergens

[Merlot]

Have you all completed your paperwork on allergens for parents? I look at it then put it down again. The thought of going through every meal or item of food and looking up allergens makes me loose the will to live!

Is there a simpler way or something I can Google?

[lollipop kid]

Have you all completed your paperwork on allergens for parents? I look at it then put it down again. The thought of going through every meal or item of food and looking up allergens makes me loose the will to live!

Is there a simpler way or something I can Google?

One of my parents is an Environmental Health Officer. Her advice to me was to keep it really simple. Providers just need to know what is in our food. If you look at food labels (take a yoghurt for example), the Allergen will be displayed on the ingredients list in bold type. For yoghurt, the allergen is "Milk". (By the way, for the purposes of the 14 allergens, I'm only interested in diagnosed food allergies, hence why I make mention of these, as I want to guard against a serious allergic reaction such as Anaphylaxis as a result of foods consumed at my setting. So just because Little Johnny doesn't necessarily like something, it's not the same as having a diagnosed allergy to it.)


I did this in a few steps:

Step 1: I gave each of my parents two copies of the attached. I wrote on it: "For each allergen, please tick if your child has had exposure to allergen and is OK to be served food with this, or write "Not Yet" to those allergens not yet exposed to"

Signed:
Date:
Return to: (Your name)

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/or...ea57c2f5fd.jpg

Then I put the returned copy in the child's file and asked the parents to keep a copy and update me if anything changes (e.g. not yet becomes ticked)

Step 2: On my sample menu (which is on my website), I just put a bold on each item that contains an allergen - so Yoghurt is marked in bold as it contains milk.

Step 3: I took a photograph of the food labels that I use regularly (so Fish fingers ingredients list, Petit Filous ingredients list etc.), printed these out in black and white, and stapled these to the back of a print-out of my sample menu. (So that if I am ever asked what is in any of the foods I serve, I can easily produce this). If I deviate from the sample menu, I just print ingredient label photos for these out too.

Step 4: Continue to record what the child has eaten for each meal/snack in their daily diary, so parents can see this each day. (We need to do this anyway, and we also need to keep food receipts for 3 months.)

I hope it helps.

All the best,

L

[Merlot]

Thanks for that. I've got a chart with the allergens listed and I'm putting my sample menu foods in a column and ticking them. I know foods have labels with allergens but this is one of the things of going through the fridge, freezer and cupboards I didn't want to do. What a pain it is!

[moggy]

This was discussed in depth in December-worth a search of the forum if interested.

This is ALL I do for allergens (written in Dec 2014, copied from an old thread):

'My Food & Drink policy is updated and signed by parents listing the allergens and referring to the new Allergens rules; parents have been updated in my newsletter too; I have completed the FSA Allergens online training and certificate is in my portfolio; the FSA poster of allergens is in my portfolio. I adhere to EYFS 3.74. I am ready to inform anyone IF ASKED what was in their food (by referring to packet labels, my knowledge of what I cook and from info I would source from any where outside my setting we might have eaten at like a cafe). My Child Record Form is unchanged.'

I have not gone through my cupboards. I know what I usually buy and can have a look if I am ever asked. 'IF ASKED' is the crucial thing- we do not need to make lists of what we serve or label up menus.

If you want to check then ask your local Env Health who are the ones who enforce the allergens laws (not Ofsted).

[greenfaerie]

I've had mixed messages on this whole allergen thing. My LA held a quick evening course in December telling all Childminders that they had to have a chart and label their menus etc. I spent a few hours checking all the ingredients in my food. It wasn't that difficult, since a lot of ingredients cross over dishes and I created the chart. Then when Env Health visited to register me as a food business they told me that I don't need to be concerned with that because I'm not serving food to strangers and parents will tell me of any allergies. These people were from the same Council, is it too much to hope for some sharing of information? O_o

[rickysmiths]

I've had mixed messages on this whole allergen thing. My LA held a quick evening course in December telling all Childminders that they had to have a chart and label their menus etc. I spent a few hours checking all the ingredients in my food. It wasn't that difficult, since a lot of ingredients cross over dishes and I created the chart. Then when Env Health visited to register me as a food business they told me that I don't need to be concerned with that because I'm not serving food to strangers and parents will tell me of any allergies. These people were from the same Council, is it too much to hope for some sharing of information? O_o

That is exactly what my EHO said when I phoned for advise. No need to label stuff. If you think about it even restaurants don't have to label their menus in detail all they have to do is provide the information if asked.

I am going out for a meal tonight and this is what the Restaurant has to say on the mater and it is exactly the same in all the cafe and restaurants I have been to since December.

http://richouxpiccadilly.com/media/p...rgy_poster.pdf

[Merlot]

Thanks for that. It was our PACEY rep who sent a copy of the allergens chart and said we needed to complete it with our menus and ticking what allergens are in the food. They said we didn't need to list ingredients just tick the box. I haven't listed ingredients but have had a parent querying what was what. I have since compiled a list of foods and meals with a particular allergen taken out and have asked for the parent to add to the list if they feel the need. So to date I HAVE done an allergen chart with all possible foods I provide and HAVE done a separate menu for someone with an allergy. My thoughts to the government and anyone else is wt*?!! Why do I have to do everything for everyone! Surely I shouldn't need to wrap up children and parents in cotton wool!!! Why don't parents send a packed lunch or just tell me what their child can or cannot eat!

Rant just beginning .........