How to Manage and Communicate Food Allergens in Restaurants

How to manage Food Allergens in Restaurants

Share This Post

By: Anna Skyttä

There are 9 major food allergens identified in the United States, 11 common food allergens in Canada, 21 allergens to be declared in Australia, and 14 in the United Kingdom. Requirements for communicating food allergens to restaurant customers vary from country to country. Even if the restaurants were not required to include food allergens on their menus, it would be important to take customers with food allergies into consideration. Having the possible food allergens identified is extremely important information to many restaurant customers. This is why it should be easily available both in the kitchen and at point-of-sale. Luckily today food operators can make their work easier – also with regards food allergens – with a kitchen management software system.

Information on Food Allergens Easily Available in the Kitchen System

How does the process work in your restaurant, when a customer asks the waiter if a certain menu item includes food allergens: Do all the people working at point-of-sale have this information in their heads? Do they go in the kitchen to ask for it from the chef? Are the ingredients and allergens for the menu printed in some binder?

In JAMIX Kitchen Intelligence System food allergen information runs accurately through the system from ingredients to recipes and menus. The software system enables reliable and always up-to-date information which is easily available to all users. From the system it is easy for the employees to check ingredients and food allergens related to recipes that are included in the menu. You can use JAMIX Kitchen Intelligence System also in mobile devices which makes it a handy tool for all employees both in the kitchen and at point-of-sale. When you have the software system with you in your mobile, it’s easy to check the needed information quickly right on the spot. 

Share Your Digital Menu Online – Including Food Allergen Information

Today most restaurants publish their menu online so that customers can look at it beforehand, or that they can order takeout. Online menu usually includes information on the menu items and sometimes also on diets. For customers with allergies it would be at least as important to know the possible food allergens in different menu items.

JAMIX Kitchen Intelligence System includes an e menu feature which enables you to publish your menu easily online. JAMIX e Menu service automatically creates a customer friendly version of your operative menu in the system into a separate web page. In addition to names of the menu items, the published menu includes more detailed information, such as ingredients and allergens.

You can easily link the menu published from JAMIX System to your own website. You can also utilize it on digital screens at point of sale. JAMIX System also provides a QR code directing at the published menu. You can utilize the QR code in printed marketing materials, and your customers can scan the code with their own smart devices. Digitally published menu is always in sync with information in JAMIX Kitchen Intelligence System – and always accessible for your customers! 

Print Nutrition Facts Labels Directly from Your Recipes in the System

If your restaurant sells takeout food, it would be good to include allergen information in the dish itself – even if you had communicated it to the customer before the order. People often order food together – sometimes everyone has had the opportunity to select their own meal, but sometimes one person has ordered food for everybody. Especially in the latter situation it would be extremely important that each diner can check possible food allergens for delivered food.

JAMIX Kitchen Intelligence System includes food label templates that are in accordance with FDA regulations. You can easily create food labels for your recipes in the system. And you can print just the amount of labels you need directly from JAMIX System on paper or adhesive labels – whether it’s 1 or 100 pcs – just when you need them. 

More to explore