Food Information Regulations
New requirement for Allergy labelling on menus. On 13th December 2014 the Food Information Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2014 came into force. This legislation introduces a new requirement for all food businesses selling open or loose food such as in restaurants, takeaways, bakeries, hot food counters and delis to provide information to customers if they contain any of the 14 recognised allergens.
See the Food Allergen Risk Assessment for Caterers page...
Advice on E.Coli 0157
The Food Standards Agency has issued guidance for food businesses to control the risk of food becoming contaminated by E.Coli 0157
Environmental Health Officers are also concerned with how food is packaged and labelled so that consumers are well informed about the food they are eating. Food labels are an important source of information for consumers, providing the following details:
- Name of the food
- Weight
- Use-by date
- Preparation instructions
- Storage instructions
- Ingredients
- Manufacturers details
- Lot/Batch number
- Allergy advice
Many food manufacturers will now label pre-packed food items with the nutritional value of the food and compare this to recommended Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs). Manufacturers are not required to provide nutritional information unless they make a nutritional claim.Environmental health Officers will carry out routine chemical sampling and compositional sampling of food products to ensure that food items contain the correct quantity of ingredients and meet specific compositional standards.