The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Safety Authority of Ireland are advising people who have a peanut allergy to avoid consuming foods that contain or may contain mustard, mustard powder or mustard flour due to potential peanut contamination.[1,2]
Mustard ingredients – including mustard powder or flour – can be found in many foods including dips, sauces, salads and pre-packed sandwiches.
The FSA has traced the contaminated mustard ingredients to a producer in India called GT Agro Industries. One company, FGS Ingredients, has been identified as distributing their mustard ingredients for use within the UK and Ireland. While 50 products have already been recalled, the full extent of the contamination is still under investigation.
What to do and how Nutritics & TenKites can help
1. Assess the Supply Chain Risk:
Food businesses should take this opportunity to action allergen control procedures and conduct a supplier audit:
- Investigate if mustard, mustard powder, or mustard flour from affected sources has entered their supply chain, particularly from GT Agro Industries or FGS Ingredients Ltd.
- Remove any potentially contaminated products from sale until clear guidance is available from the FSA.
- Engage with your suppliers, ask for information regarding the origin of ingredients bought and ensure they have taken measures to assess and address the risk in their products.
2. Implement Public Health Measures:
Clearly communicate potential allergen risks to customers via physical or digital signage to help people make informed decisions while assessing the specific impact on your business.
Use your Ten Kites and Quickdish online menu platforms to clearly display warnings to inform your customers about the potential contamination risk.
To make use of the Ten Kites Allergy Advice Pop- up banner – to inform guests visiting your online menu web page about the FSA’s advice that people with peanut allergies should avoid mustard-containing products – follow these steps:
- Option 1*: A warning pop-up window can be displayed each time the menu page is loaded. Content of the window is configured in:
Admin > Units > Output Customisation > Disclaimer - Option 2*: A similar pop-up window can be displayed specific to a dietary allergy label, when that label is filtered on. Content on the window is configured in:
Admin > Customisation > Dietary Labels > Note
* Please contact us for advice on how to enable these features.
These features are supported by generic Ten Kites Menu Web Page Templates. If you use a bespoke menu display, these features are only available if requested in the original development project.
To make use of the Quickdish menu disclaimer banner to inform guests about the FSA’s advice that people with peanut allergies should avoid mustard-containing products – follow these steps:
- Click on ‘Menu Settings’ (grey slider icon the top right corner of the menu workspace or via the View button>QuickDish>Configure
- Write information under ‘Your Legal Disclaimer’
- Click ‘Apply’
- Click ‘View’ in the top right corner to open QuickdishReview updatesSee step by step with images at: Creating a Menu – Nutritics
If using Nutritics for PPDS labelling – we recommend that you add an additional statement to display areas or across all food labels about the current risk of cross contamination of mustard containing foods. Guidance on creating or amending your label is available here.
Ensure all staff are fully aware of the ongoing situation and respond to allergy inquiries from customers. This includes confirming whether any dishes contain mustard or are subject to a “may contain” label for mustard.
Monitor FSA updates: Get instant notification for when more impacted products are identified – sign up to FSA allergy alerts: Subscribe to news and alerts | Food Standards Agency and adjust in-house warnings accordingly as more information about affected products becomes available.