Spotlight of the Month – Caroline Benjamin

This month I am so happy to have a friend of mine as well as an incredible allergy advocate Caroline Benjamin. I met Caroline quite a few years ago and was in awe of the work she does within the allergy community. I remember when she first told me when she went on a cruise ship and spoke to the catering team about gluten free options which is very much needed on board. I am so excited to see what else is yet to come!

1.Tell us a little bit about yourself?

I set Food Allery Aware around the end of 2013, due to my own issued with food intolerance and the struggle when dining out.  I have worked in hospitality since the age of 15,training as a chef, working both front and back of house over the years, in later years I worked as a conference organiser from a venue and organisers sectors and have an understanding of the customer and the Food Business Operators perspective.  This has enabled me to have a good insight on working methods and giving best practice advice. I have also work outside of hospitality Pratt & Witney which gave me an insight into how other business use near miss reporting to prevent issues and fatalities from occurring. 

2.Can you tell us how Allergy Aware and HASUK first started?

HASUK is a collaboration between Food Allergy Aware  (Caroline) & Jacs Allergen Management (Jacqui McPeake) we both have the same values when providing for the Food Hypersensitive (FHS) customer and Jacqui is based in the north and myself in the south it made sense for us to join forces to push further the allergen customer message.

In 2021 we launched the Near Miss Campaign, we wanted to identify what issues where reoccurring when the FHS customer dined out we put a survey out for both the Food business operators (all sectors of hospitality) and the FHS customer – we ran focus groups with some of those who responded, and with EHO’s and Trading standards to get their feedback.  https://hasuk.co.uk/near-miss-campaign-whats-it-all-about/

On the back of this we created a report which  highlighted continuous issues across the hospitality sector – https://hasuk.co.uk/report/.

We recently attended the allergy show and asked the attendees their pet hate and wish list for dining out   some of the comments for Pet Hates included Lack of choices and Lack of Knowledge from  staff and Not wanting to sign disclaimers when dining out – Wish list included clearer written information on menu’s, FF food not so expensive!

We have now developed a reporting database to collate issues and share best practice with food businesses to keep the FHS customer safe https://foodallergyreaction.report/

3.What top tips do you have for preventing an allergic reaction for individuals and also food businesses as well?

FHS Customer

  • Try and plan ahead check out the website, give the venue a call or email for more information – it is not always possible to plan ahead
  • Don’t be afraid to ask for reassurance when unsure of a menu item (ask for pictures of labels)
  • Always ask about dishes on the menu every time you visit, even if previously ordered, as the recipe or chef may change
  • When your meal is served if they do not mention dietary when placing, ask it if is the freefrom XXX meal.

Food Business Operators

  • Place details of your allergy policy on the website, let the FHS customer understand your capabilities
  • Have allergen information on dishes on a matrix, if possible have on website – state menus may change so ask about dishes when in the venue
  • Train staff in the ways to communicate to the FHS customer, they wll be anxious, so knowledge is key
    • If you don’t know fetch a colleague who does – DO NOT guess

4.What do you think the biggest challenge is for the food industry when it comes to catering for those with food allergies and intolerances? What do you think can be done to improve this?

  • There is a lack of understanding on how allergies affect people, the anxieties also lack knowledge of allergens outside the top #14 – there is a misconception that they are not as severe
  • Some venues have a vlanket statement when contacting yes we manage allergens, you give detailed information and arrive with nothing planned for your diet
  • An allergy matrix is a magic document stops a venue from giving a choice even when dietary information has been supplied

5.Where would you like to see the food industry in 5 years time when catering for those with food allergies.

  • I would like to see mandatory allergen training for managers and supervisors and chefs to a level 3 standard
  • I would like to see full ingredients information for all components of the dish it is not difficult, staff should be aware of what is in all parts of the dish
  • Restrictions around accredited vegan and May contain stricter