Paper presented at the 52nd CFCS Annual Meeting, Guadeloupe, July 10-16, 2016
TESTING AN ACTION PLAN FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ALLERGEN MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY D. Darmohotoemo1 and R.Sahtoe2 1
Agricultural Production student, Faculty of Technological Sciences, Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname 2 Agricultural Production faclty member, Faculty of Technological Sciences, Anton de Kom University of Suriname, Paramaribo, Suriname Keywords: allergen, management, actionplan, implementation, knowledge Abstract The use of an allergen management system for the food service industry is regulated by law in many countries such as the USA and the EU. This is because the number of people with a food allergy has been increasing since 1997 and there is no cure for this disease (A. McKeever, 2014). Studies show that most cases of allergic reactions occur in restaurants. To ensure as much as possible the safety of people with food allergies in Suriname, it is recommended that an allergen management system is set up for the food service. At present, existing action plans are primarily for the development of an allergen management system for packaged goods and not directly applicable within the food service industry. In this study an action plan has been developed which can be used within the food service industry in Suriname. The method consisted of 3 parts 1. Develop an action plan for the food service based on literature study 2. Test the knowledge of the food service personnel of three restaurants on allergens by surveying: *kitchen staff (n=32): questions included knowledge about allergens, the handling of products containing allergens, crosscontamination and producing special allergen-free meals *waiters (n=31): questions included knowledge about allergens, crosscontamination and the approach & treatment of customers with food allergies 3. Testing of the established action plan in one of the restaurants through assessing the suitability of current suppliers (observation and survey), testing operations in the kitchen (observation) and testing of the operations in the service (observation) There is not a big difference in knowledge about allergen and allergen related issues between kitchen staff and waiters. A small percentage (< 35%) of the respondents knew what allergens are. More than 50% of the respondents possessed sufficient knowledge on the handling of allergens, cross-contamination, the handling of a special order and guests with food allergies . The observation demonstrated that in the current situation in many ways cross-contamination can still occur which may cause sensitive people to suffer from a food allergy. In order to implement the established action plan for an allergen management system investment in both human personnel (training) as well as in facilities (for instance separate facilities for production of allergen free meals) is necessary.
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