Catering for Allergies: How Your Business Can Get It Right

According to scientists, the rate of allergies in Singapore is not as alarming as they are in the West. But they exist nonetheless, with shellfish being a common allergy. In the last few years, scientists have noticed a rising trend of peanut allergies amongst Singaporeans. Recently, there was heated debate after a three-year-old boy from Australia suffered an extreme allergic reaction due to peanuts while on board a Singapore Airlines flight. The boy was not served and neither did he eat the peanuts, but was seated next to other passengers who were enjoying the snack.

If you are running a restaurant or catering business, you have to handle your hotel supplies, catering equipment, and catering equipment suppliers with allergies in mind. However, dealing with allergies is not just an operational issue, in fact, it can also be a catalyst for more business.

Here’s how your business can get it right when catering for allergies.

Communicate

Communication is the perhaps the most important step in avoiding allergic reactions in your restaurant or catering outlet. Experts say that the best way to handle allergic reactions is by preventing them all together.

Source: Pexels

This is done not through a passive “polite notice” to your clients but an active interaction with your clients as they walk in. Additionally, discuss with your catering equipment suppliers in Singapore on the type of equipment, how to handle, clean and cater for allergens.

Your staff should also all be thoroughly briefed on handling food containing common allergens like shellfish or gluten.

Make Adjustments to Your Processes and Catering Equipment

As you liaise with your clients, staff and restaurant equipment suppliers, review your processes and catering equipment. Keeping in mind that one doesn’t have to consume the allergen to have an allergic reaction, as was the case of the boy on board the Singapore Airlines flight. So, reach out to the best of Singapore’s restaurant equipment suppliers for recommendations and tips on how to adjust your equipment and catering processes in order to avoid residual allergen contamination.

Train Your Staff

Source: Unsplash

As you make adjustments to your processes and equipment, you will need to give your staff the necessary training. The best of Singapore’s catering equipment suppliers will always include training as part of the deal whenever you purchase or lease equipment. Just make a note to remind the trainer to include allergen handling in their talk.

If you have to organise an independent training session, have the trainer come a day prior to the training so as to familiarize themselves with your processes and catering equipment.

Go the Extra Mile

Staff should inculcate the mindset that catering for food intolerances is not an exception, but an obligation that they have to each client. Make it a daily or hourly practice to check for and avoid allergen contamination in your hotel supplies, and review your performance.

Inform Your Customers

Catering for allergens is not just another precaution and you can even turn it into a business opportunity. Tell your clients that your staff members are trained to cater for food intolerances. Inform the masses that your food is processed to avoid allergen contamination and that you only use the best catering equipment from reliable Singaporean restaurant equipment suppliers. In this way, you can turn the precautions taken for allergens into a favourable aspect for your business.