Food Allergen Management for Environmental Health Officers, live online tutor-led training course

This intensive half-day course provides delegates with essential knowledge and practical skills to assess and verify allergen management standards in food businesses. It focuses on food hypersensitivity, legal and operational responsibilities, allergen risk assessment, food safety management systems and effective allergen communication, helping delegates support public health and regulatory compliance.

Target Audience:

• Environmental Health Officers
• Environmental Health Practitioners
• Food Safety Officers
• Local Authority Food Safety Inspectors
• Trading Standards Officers with food responsibilities
• Regulatory Services Officers
• Authorised officers responsible for food hygiene or food standards inspections

The course will be delivered live online over the course of 4 hours (0900 - 1300 hours approx.), participants will be sent log in details for a Microsoft Teams Session.

Course Objectives

By the end of the course, delegates will:

• Understand the public health significance of food allergies, intolerances and coeliac disease.
• Understand the legal and operational responsibilities for managing food allergens.
• Understand allergen management and its integration with food safety management systems.
• Assess allergen controls using HACCP principles.
• Review how allergen information is communicated through labels, menus and verbal information.

 Training Course Content

• Food hypersensitivity and public health impact - Food allergy, food intolerance and coeliac disease; symptoms, severity and prevalence
• Legal and operational responsibilities - UK requirements, regulated allergens and responsibilities for allergen information
• Allergen labelling and information - Prepacked, prepacked for direct sale and non-prepacked foods, including precautionary allergen labelling
• Risk assessment and food safety management systems - HACCP principles, prerequisite programmes and cross-contact controls
• Assessing allergen controls in practice - Ingredient information, supplier assurance, storage, preparation, cleaning, staff competence and communication

Learning Outcomes

Delegates will be able to:

• Explain the nature and severity of food allergies, intolerances and coeliac disease.
• Identify the 14 regulated allergens and recognise common and hidden sources.
• Describe allergen information requirements for prepacked, pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) and non-prepacked foods.
• Evaluate allergen risk controls within food safety management systems.
• Assess ingredient controls, cross-contact prevention, cleaning, staff competence and allergen communication in practice.