Food allergies challenges that are facing food services
Jacques-Olivier Vandenhende
Executive in Business Development, Strategy and Operations
In Europe, 17 million people suffer from food allergies or intolerances. New challenges are emerging. Particularly, legislation regarding food labelling that weighs heavily on food services.
Over the past 10 years, the number of people suffering from food allergies has doubled. While the deadly consequences of allergic reactions in children have multiplied by 7. According to the WHO, half of the population could be affected by 2050.
From the quality of our food to our habits, our environment as a whole influences our health and well-being. Plus, consuming processed food products considerably increases the risk of allergen exposure.
Faced with food allergies, more restrictive labelling
There are at least 120 foods that cause food allergies or intolerances. Since July 1st, 2015, professionals must indicate if their dishes contain one or more of 14 identified allergens. Food services, caterers, retailers… all food sectors are affected by European regulation EU1169. This document protects all nutritional profiles and helps clients safely choose their meals.
Although necessary, this law is a major headache for restaurateurs. There is no system for collecting and structuring food data. Producers and distributors have to find information from numerous sources. A recent study of industrial products conducted by Youmeal showed that 70% of information needed data adaptation, modification or enhancement. For the food services sector, offering food labelling for every nutritional profile is therefore a real challenge. Yet public demand for more transparency and better consumer information is very real.
Over the past 10 years, the number of people suffering from food allergies has doubled. While the deadly consequences of allergic reactions in children have multiplied by 7. According to the WHO, half of the population could be affected by 2050.
From the quality of our food to our habits, our environment as a whole influences our health and well-being. Plus, consuming processed food products considerably increases the risk of allergen exposure.