It found that more than half of care homes surveyed have made operational changes – such as updating care homes policies and procedures, implementing training to staff and re-working menus - following the introduction of the new food allergen laws in December 2014.
Ed Bevan of Acquire said: “Following the recent changes to allergen laws, care home caterer’s need to be aware of 14 allergens and while some are obvious, such as eggs, milk and fish, many allergens are hidden where you may least expect them.
“This means caterers need to be familiar with the constituents of every ingredient used in the kitchen.
“Not only this but care homes need to be able to provide detailed information about all meals served to residents (and their families) upon request – creating a whole host of additional paper work.
“Many care homes, particularly smaller independent ones who have leaner staff numbers, have struggled to find the time for these changes. Extra staff may need to be recruited or current staff may need to be re-directed so they can manage the admin, as opposed to focusing on front-line services.”
Acquire’s sector experience covers catering, education, care, facilities, management, restaurants, government and sports and leisure.