FOOD ALLERGY CHART TEMPLATE FOR FREE

Food allergen chart

• Food allergens are compounds in food products that can trigger hypersensitivity reactions such as life-threatening food allergies from vulnerable individuals.

• The fourteen most common food allergens include celery, gluten, eggs, milk, fish, lupin, mollusks, mustards, sesame, crustaceans, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, and sulfites.

• A food allergen chart is a tool that can help your food safety team and customers identify which food products may contain food allergens.

One of the most critical regulations by food safety agencies is the declaration of food allergens in your products and the establishment of a food allergen chart in your business. Food allergens are common compounds that can cause adverse effects in certain people. Allergic reaction to food is common all over the world for people who have a specific susceptibility to allergens.

Food allergy has been reported to occur to at least 220-250 million people worldwide and affects their everyday living. The effects of allergic reactions to food can significantly slow down productivity and even lead to serious health issues when left untreated. This is why it is legally required for you to provide all of the necessary information about allergens in the food you give to your customers.

To help you remember all necessary information for your allergen and guide your food business operators, a food allergen list template. We will take you through a quick rundown of the necessary information about food allergens and how important a food allergy chart template is important.

What is a food allergy?

The most common food allergy symptoms are:

• Tingling or itching in the mouth
• Hives, itching, or eczema
• Swelling of the lips, face, tongue, and throat or other parts of the body
• Wheezing, nasal congestion, or trouble breathing
• Abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting
• Dizziness, lightheadedness, or fainting
  
  

Which foods cause allergic reactions?

There are several food products that can trigger food allergy reactions. The degree of allergic reactions depends on the concentration of protein allergens in a food product. 14 major allergens include:

Who needs a food allergen template?

Generally speaking, anyone who manufactures, prepares, serves, handles, or packs food is liable to declare food allergens in their products to protect their customers with allergies. The occurrence of public health issues due to consuming foods from your business with undeclared food allergens can result in serious legal problems.

Food agencies pursue the requirement of all food establishments which include grocery store delicatessens, bakeries, cafeterias, and restaurants to follow the food allergen code. Currently, all food businesses governed by the Food Safety Agency in the UK and the Food and Drug Administration in the USA are required to declare any food allergen in the products. Products under their jurisdiction include:

• Conventional foods
• Packaged foods
• Medical foods (for tube feedings and related cases)
• Infant formula
• Vitamins and dietary supplement

Food allergen labeling regulations apply to any food sold in packages labeled as "for individual sale". Included in the list of businesses required to declare food allergens are those that produce flavors, spices, and coloring agents. On the other hand, food handlers responsible for the production of fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables are not required to declare food allergens. Similarly, refined oil manufacturers are not required as well.

Essentially, all food businesses required to declare food allergens in their products would benefit from a food allergen chart around your operations facilities and can become a vital part of your HACCP food safety plan.

How to use a food allergy list template?

Most life-threatening food allergies are caused by only 14 allergens. You can use food allergen charts for both your team and your customers with food allergies. A food allergy list template consists of columns and rows to determine which food allergen is in your food item across a list of allergens. Individual dishes can have more than one food allergen, depending on its formulation. 

You can pin it in your central kitchen wall so your team can see it any time or print it out for each team member's pocket for peeking. A food allergy list will help you remind the team which foods contain high-risk food ingredients and which ones must be well separated to avoid cross-contaminations.

As a food safety law, you are required to inform customers about food allergens in your products. For customers with food allergies, it's not the most common way to inform them, but you can add needed comments about allergens directly to the menu. You can also dedicate a section of your menu for this information. Alternatively, a food allergy chart template can be used for food allergen declaration of online menus and for your websites for advanced order taking.

Allergen awareness is a key to food safety

In addition to creating a food allergen chart, your business must also be keen on increasing allergen awareness among your employees. All members of your team must be acquainted with what food allergens are, their symptoms, significance, sources, and potential allergens to public health safety.

Below are some practices you can apply within your food safety team:

1. Add a clear advisory statement of allergens to each menu item. This is the most common way when your menu is not changing daily. This can also be very applicable to your website and social media online menu where allergen & nutrition information is usually requested.

2. Add a general advisory statement to your menu such as, "Customers can ask for advice about food allergens from the staff."

3. Add all allergen statements to your online menu and delivery apps.

4. Keep a food allergy chart where all your staff can see it. For example, kitchen doors, walls, etc.

5. Enroll employees in food safety training courses to orient them with food allergen concerns and proper food handling.

6. Ensure that your food business has an Allergen Management plan as the part of the HACCP plan

7. Follow legal standards on declaring food allergens.

When do I need an allergen information update?

Updating your food allergy chart can be a bit troublesome especially for food service establishments that change their menus seasonally or even every day. There will always be certain times when your food allergy chart, and Allergen Management Plan must be revised

It's always important to update your food allergy chart when you:

1. When you change your menu or make additional menus. Every time you change your menu, check all the ingredients and fill the food allergy chart with a new menu item.

2. Use a new supplier. Every time you use a new supplier, check all the ingredients you order, ask for product specifications when needed and update your food allergy chart according to the menu.

3. Substitute a food ingredient in your recipe.

4. When you have a new product.

Get yourself a flexible food allergen chart by trying out our free food safety template hub at FoodDocs. Edit, customize, download, and print at your most convenient time. Updating your food allergen chart will always be easy using our services.

Create your own free food allergen chart

New players and old-time food business owners alike, knowing a better way to build your own food allergen chart saves you so much time from planning. At FoodDocs, we offer you an array of free food safety templates for monitoring and verification forms and other guidance documents. Some of our templates are customizable to fit your business operations and are free for downloading and printing for your convenience. 

You can use our downloadable food allergy chart, print it, and distribute it to your team for information dissemination. You can also get other food safety documents such as checklists, posters, and advisories from our HACCP plan template hub. 

Food allergen chart as an important part of your Allergen Management Plan

Your food safety documents, together with the food allergy chart have to be ready for the audit at any time. Under food safety regulations, inspections can be unannounced or announced. Proper food allergen declaration is a big factor to satisfy these audits.

Up-to-date documentation is one of the first signs for authorities that your facility takes food safety seriously and is ready for the food safety inspection. At FoodDocs, we have come up with a digital solution that can provide you with a comprehensive allergen management plan. This plan is specifically based on the potentially present allergens in your food business. 

Using artificial intelligence, our system can create an allergen management plan for your food business complete with the following components

• Ways how to prevent allergens
• Monitoring procedures
• Validation procedures 
• Corrective actions in case of cross-contact contamination in food preparation

The whole allergen management plan is based on the potentially present common food allergens in your food operations. You can also customize the plan for improvements.

Allergen management plan in FoodDocs

The best part about this management plan is that it comes with a complete and comprehensive HACCP food safety plan! With our built-in HACCP plan builder software, we can help you create your entire HACCP plan in just 1 hour. Our HACCP plan builder is a machine-learned software that has the expertise of a food safety specialist and consultant and takes into account the specific food legislations in your country. 

By providing information regarding your food business, our system can automatically create a comprehensive HACCP plan based on your everyday operations. Never worry about identifying potential hazards in food and critical control points of your food operations because we can do that for you.

With our built-in HACCP plan builder, you can get all the following components:

• Basic flow diagram of your operations
• Properly identified and analyzed hazards
• Established critical control points with appropriate critical limits
• Monitoring procedures
• Verification procedures
• Recordkeeping methods

Oh, don't forget about the allergen management plan that we can build for you! With this system, your food safety compliance can become easier and more effortless. You would not have to spend much time building and revising your HACCP plan as our system was built to be accurate. By using a machine learning program, our system only gets smarter with every sign-up we get.

Let us help you with your food safety compliance now and build your digital HACCP plan in just 1 hour.

Save so much more time and money by letting us help you build your food safety plan.