Allergy Awareness Week 2021

The event is managed by Allergy UK, a leading national charity that provides support, advice, and information for those living with allergic disease.

The charity, which is celebrating its 30th birthday this year, estimates that 21 million people in the UK are currently living with allergic disease, highlighting the importance of monitoring allergens in the food and drink supply chain.

For professionals responsible for managing allergens in the food and drink sector, this already vital task has taken on additional significance with Natasha’s Law being introduced into law in October 2021.

Natasha’s Law states that all foods that are prepared and packed on the same premises from which they are sold must be accompanied by a list of ingredients and that any potential allergens must be clearly marked on this list.

The introduction of the law aims to allow those with allergies to have more confidence while eating pre-packaged food. The ingredient list will reassure that the product clearly does not contain an allergen that may induce an anaphylactic shock.

This means that not only will the law provide more security and reassurance for those suffering from allergies, but it also means that businesses may need to make changes to their processes, such as ensuring the central repository of product ingredients and information is constantly up to date, and that a transparent, detailed product audit can be provided at any time.

While many food and beverage organisations do attempt to manage allergen information, the process, unfortunately, can be a labour-intensive and time-consuming one.

Although it may be hard to believe, many food and drink businesses are still using the likes of spreadsheets, email trails and paper-based systems to track their allergen information.

ARCUS^® Product Information Management (PIM) is a cloud-based solution that automates the collection of essential product information directly from your suppliers, proving the be an important ingredient for digitising the entire product on-boarding process.

The module enables organisations to gather the product data they require, such as allergen, nutrition, and packaging information, using tailored questionnaires that have been configured to meet specific business requirements.

Additionally, ARCUS^® PIM also integrates with numerous systems commonly used throughout the food and beverage sector.

Using ARCUS^® Connect, the software’s native API, the product information collected in ARCUS^® PIM can be sent seamlessly to downstream systems, such as recipe management and ERP, creating an end-to-end product information solution that uses a single source of data and does not rely on re-keying.

If you would like to find out more about ARCUS^® PIM, you can watch the PIM video or download the Domino’s Pizza case study here.