The Italian Ministry of Health Clarifies the Means Through Which Information About Allergens in Non-Prepacked Food Supplied by Mass Caterers Shall Be Provided to Consumers

摘要

The Ministry of Health, Directorate General for Food Hygiene, Food Safety and Nutrition, Office V, with a note of 6 February 2015 (available at: http://www.trovanorme.salute.gov.itorme/render-NormsanPdf;jsession-id=FECAlArl2YWTiZMdzUtcA .sgc^-prd-sal?an-no=o&codLeg-si266&parte=i%20&serie=), describes the means through which information about the presence of allergens must be conveyed to consumers for non prepacked food that is supplied by mass caterers, for instance in restaurants, canteens, schools, hospitals and catering enterprises. In this regard, the Ministry of Health makes reference to Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, directly applicable in all Member States, including Italy, from 13 December 2014, which requires that the final consumer is always provided, meaning for both prepacked food and non-prepacked food, the information about allergene ingredients or processing aids present in the foodstuff (see Article 9, paragraph 1, letter c) and Article 44, paragraph 1 of Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011). However, the means by which the information about allergens should be made available for non-prepacked food, since they are not established by Community provisions, need to be determined by the Member States. In this regard, the Italian Government, through the note of the Ministry of Health of 6 February 2014, clarifies that when non-prepacked food is served to consumers through mass caterers, such information may be reported on the menus, on special registers or signs or through any other equivalent systems, even technological, to be kept in plain sight, in order to enable the consumer to have easy and free access to this information. In this regard, the Ministry of Health highlights that, in the case in which electronic systems (e.g. smartphone applications, bar code, QR code, etc.) are being used, these cannot be in any case the only tools to reportthe required allergen information, as they are not easily accessible to the whole population and therefore not sufficiently suitable for this purpose.