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Food Allergens eLearning
Online food allergen training covering the 14 regulated allergens, how to give accurate allergen information, and why cross-contact is the risk that kills people.
Who it is for
Who this food allergens course is for
Allergen mistakes are rarely about ignorance of the law. They are about a busy service, an unlabelled container, or someone answering a customer question without checking. This course is about the moments where that happens.
- Kitchen, catering and hospitality staff
- Front of house taking orders and answering questions
- Retail staff selling loose or prepacked food
- Mobile and event caterers
- School, care and hospital catering teams
- Anyone responsible for allergen information
Course content
What the food allergens course covers
Five short lessons covering allergy, intolerance and coeliac disease, the 14 allergens, reactions and anaphylaxis, allergen information and labelling, and cross-contact, controls and records, then a 12-question assessment.
Allergy, intolerance and coeliac disease
The differences between food allergy, food intolerance and coeliac disease, and why every request is taken seriously.
The 14 regulated allergens
The 14 allergens UK law requires businesses to declare, and the dishes they hide in.
Reactions and anaphylaxis
Recognising an allergic reaction, anaphylaxis, and what to do.
Allergen information and labelling
Giving accurate information for loose food, labelling prepacked and prepacked for direct sale food, and handling questions.
Cross-contact, controls and records
Preventing cross-contact in storage, preparation and service, and keeping recipe and ingredient records up to date.
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Explain the difference between allergy, intolerance and coeliac disease
- Name the 14 regulated allergens and where they hide
- Recognise an allergic reaction and act on it
- Give accurate allergen information and apply the labelling rules
- Prevent cross-contact and keep allergen records up to date
Your legal duty
The law behind food allergens training
Allergen requirements sit inside food law. In England, food businesses operate under the Food Safety Act 1990 and the Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013, with equivalent regulations elsewhere in the UK. Allergen information requirements apply to both loose and prepacked food.
Labelling rules for food prepacked for direct sale were tightened following the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, and requirements continue to develop. Check the Food Standards Agency for the current position. This course is training, not a substitute for current regulatory guidance.
- Food Safety Act 1990
- Food Safety and Hygiene (England) Regulations 2013 - equivalents apply elsewhere in the UK
- Allergen information requirements for loose and prepacked food
- Check the Food Standards Agency for the current labelling position
Practicalities
How the course works
Would you rather have a tutor?
General food hygiene covers the wider food safety picture.
For employers
Food Allergens training for a team
Allergen errors happen at the handover between kitchen and front of house. Both sides need the same training for that handover to work.
- One invoice instead of a card payment per person
- Licences allocated as people join, so induction is covered
- Completion and expiry reporting for your records
- Renewal reminders before certificates lapse
- Bespoke versions built around your own procedures
Food Allergens eLearning: common questions
Food handlers must be trained appropriately for their work, and allergen handling is part of that where you serve or sell food. The specific labelling requirements are set out in food law.
There are 14 regulated allergens. The course covers each one and, more usefully, where each tends to hide in ingredients and processes.
The transfer of an allergen from one food to another through equipment, surfaces, hands or storage. It is different from cross-contamination by bacteria, and it is what makes allergen control a kitchen discipline rather than a labelling exercise.
Food prepacked for direct sale has its own labelling requirements, which were tightened in recent years. The course covers the principle. Check the Food Standards Agency for the current detail.
No, and the course is emphatic about it. Answering from memory during service is how the most serious incidents happen.
About 30 to 45 minutes, with no time limit. Start it, pause it, and come back whenever suits. The certificate is issued as soon as you pass the end assessment.
Yes. It runs in a browser on any modern phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install.
Yes. Open a business account and we invoice you for the licences, which you allocate as people need them. Completion reporting included.
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