Abstract

COSTA, Carmen; SILVA, Raquel; MENDES, Sónia  and  OLIVEIRA, Bruno M. P. M.. Presentation of the Information about Food Allergens in Contract Catering. Nutrícias [online]. 2013, n.17, pp.08-12. ISSN 2182-7230.

Introduction: Although inoffensive for the majority of the population, products likely to causing food allergies and or intolerances may be fatal to susceptible individuals. With the introduction of Regulation (UE) n.º 1169/2011, contract catering companies are forced to disclose this information, even on non packed foods. Objectives: Presentation of the information about food allergens present on meals served in a contract catering company. Methodology: The allergens included in the study were the mandatory by Regulation (UE) n.º 1169/2011. The foods fact sheets provided by suppliers and labels were analyzed and their data was treated with the Predictive Analytics SoftWare. The foods were divided into 15 groups and into processed and non processed foods. Results: We were able to collect information on 68,1% of the foods and the majority had, at least, one allergen. More than half of the sample was comprised of processed foods which, on average, had more allergens, with the exception of fish and mollusks. Of the total of foods in study, about 20% contain milk and gluten, 15% sulfites and 10% soy and fish. It was only for these allergens that statistically significant differences were found. Conclusions: It was possible to gather and provide the necessary information to fulfill the duty of informing the customer. However, although the manufacturer of pre-packed foods is nowadays obligated to present this information on the label, there were difficulties and limitations collecting it. This study is relevant both to contract catering and food industry, because it shows that there’s still a lot of work to be done broadening food offer to susceptible individuals. Therefore is an actuation field to be explored by nutritionists..

Keywords : Contract catering; Food; Allergens; Allergy; Intolerance.

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