In recent years we have seen a huge rise in the diagnosis of food allergies making it increasingly necessary that allergens within all food and drink are clearly identifiable for consumers. From Saturday, December 13th, the Food Information Legislation 2013 became law. The legislation means fourteen allergens, those identified as most likely to cause an adverse reaction, within products made from loose ingredients, such as coffee or soup, and items sold from closed fronted machines must be clearly identifiable to consumers prior to purchase. This expands the legislation previously in place for labels on packaged foods.

From Saturday onwards in order to comply we must ensure that a full list communicates, in English, all allergens in each product on sale. We have had to fully understand what goes into all of the products we supply in order to share this information with consumers. This will be an ongoing project and part of our duty of care. As changes to ingredients occur and new products are stocked we will maintain up to date information for consumers. Information can be displayed either on on-screen displays when ordering or, as we have implemented, through stickers on the front of the machine clearly listing each product and any allergens contained within it.

Additional labelling increases the information already available to consumers through pre-packaged items and coincides with a change to legislation around pre-packaged food. This means that allergens will now be emphasised within the list of ingredients on packaging to make them more readily identifiable for consumers who must be aware of any potential allergens when choosing what they eat.

As part of Excel’s first class service to both our customers and the end users of our machines we have been working hard to ensure that all of our machines are clearly labelled to comply with legislation. The ease of access to information that this legislation brings will benefit those with food allergies by making their food and drink choices safer and swifter.

If you would like to discuss labelling or any of our vending options for your business please get in touch, we’ll be delighted to assist you.

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