A teenager with a nut allergy died after eating a Chinese takeaway meal containing peanuts, an inquest has heard.

The restaurant's menu had a general warning that its food may contain nuts but no specific warning for the ribs, the court heard. However, the inquest was told it was not required to provide one by law and was complying with regulations.

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From December 2014 this will no longer be the case. Is your food business aware of the changes and requirements? Contact us for further assistance.

Advice for people with food allergies has been updated, prior to new rules on allergen labelling being introduced.

New regulations will mean that information about allergenic ingredients will be made available for non-prepacked as well as prepacked foods. This is to make information clearer and more consistent for consumers.

Fears inspectors will come under extra pressure to deliver scheme and businesses could lose trade as they wait to be re-rated. A new law brought in to force businesses that serve food to display their
hygiene ratings pays "too little regard" to the impact on council inspectors and  businesses, a business organisation has said.

Food safety chiefs shut down nine businesses last month over public health fears. Another seven premises were hit with prohibition orders for breaches of food  safety legislation in July.


Professor Alan Reilly, chief executive of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), warned that food businesses need to be vigilant in relation to food safety, ensure full  compliance with food regulations and demand high standards from their suppliers.

 "This is another high monthly total of enforcement orders, with seven  prohibition orders served last month, which is a new and worrying record," he  said. "These prohibition orders force food businesses to withdraw unsafe or  illegal food from the market.

 "We warn food businesses to ensure that the food they serve and sell is safe  to eat, and obtained from reputable suppliers. It is vital that all batches of  food are fully traceable and labelled correctly, and that food businesses know  it has been produced and stored safely and hygienically."

 Five restaurants, a take-away, a distributor and the food areas of a pub and  hotel were closed for one or more days during the month until health and safety standards were met.

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Guidance on the provision of food in a village hall, or other community  setting, has been published. The guidance, which is aimed at community and  charity groups and local authorities in England, should help clarify which food  operations carried out in these venues require registration.
 
The guidance was developed following comments made on the Government's Red  Tape Challenge website and a call for clearer guidance on how food hygiene legislation applies to community events.

For an activity to require registration, it must have 'a certain continuity of  activities' and 'a certain degree of organisation' . The FSA suggests that, generally, providing food less than once a month is not  considered to have ‘a certain continuity of activities'.

Read full article at: http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2013/jul/halls#.UgO5nJ9wbVI

Food safety officers up and down the country inspect the premises of just  about anywhere that you can get food: schools, sandwich shops, pubs, hotels and bakeries. 

In fact, the list of exceptions probably gives an even better indication of  just how much they cover – only childminders, newsagents, chemist shops or  "visitor centres selling tins of biscuits" don't need to be inspected for their  hygiene standards.

 So whether you're eating out or eating in, this is important information to know. Most places are fine to buy food from – the Food Standards Agency (FSA)  passes 91% of food outlets – but what about the other 9%? 

Anything less than a score of three out of five constitutes a fail.  Businesses given ratings of 0 or 1 are those that need to make urgent or major improvements – but they're not closed down. That only happens if the food is so unsafe for the public to eat that there's an imminent risk to health.

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