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Summary
Food allergens have appeared in the last two decades as a concealed form of threat which significantly endangers public health, and their labelling on food products, drinks, and non pre-packed gastro-products is clearly defined with legal regulations.
In practice, the chemical risk management is faced with several unexpected problems. Some of them are declarations or statements about allergenic ingredients, where a nutritional allergen that the food contains is labelled with an unusual name, or similar products from different manufacturers where one is safe and the other contains allergens.
A hospitality facility which deals with production and distribution of unpackaged foods should, in addition to a developed HACCP concept and standardized recipes for food preparation, prepare a detailed, precise, and clearly defined plan for management of chemical risks.
Key words: Allergenic food ingredients, risk management, hospitality, food safety
JEL: I18, L66, Q18
Introduction
Allergenic food ingredients, food alleigies and intolerance present a food safety risk that has been a subject of great polemics lately. In European countries it is stated that the prevalence of food allergies in the total population is present 1-3% among adults and 4-6% among children, whereas in the USA this number increases to 9 million adults (4% of adult population) and 6 million or 8% of children under 18 (Branum, Lukacs, 2008; De Blok et al., 2007). Considering the fact that the percentage of population allergic to certain foodstuffs is on the increase, it is of great importance that the staff of hospitality facilities are informed about food allergies and the methods of preventing allergic reactions (Mandabach et al., 2005). Advantages of providing correct food and beverages service to consumers with food allergies include increasing sales, respect and loyalty of consumers (Kwon et al., 2013). According to Abbot et al., 2007, research in the world indicates the lack of knowledge with employees in hospitality about risks of allergenic food ingredients. The worldwide research also indicate the fact that approximately 70% of employees in hospitality has not had an opportunity to be trained and educated about food allergens, allergenic food ingredients or allergen management (Ahuja, Sicherer, 2007; Choi, Rajagopal, 2013).
According to the Regulation on declaration, labeling and advertizing food (Pravilnik о deklarisanju, označavanju i reklamiranju hrane („Sl.glasnik RS" broj 19/2017)...