Catering for FIC - eight things to consider for foodservice businesses

There are now less than two months to go until the main elements of the Food Information to Consumers Regulation EU 1169/2011 (FIC) are due to come into force.

FIC does not just cover what information needs to be presented at a particular point – it also sets out who is responsible for that information at the various stages of consumer engagement. 

Which, of course, means there are responsibilities for foodservice operators. All mass catering establishments are required by FIC to make allergen information available to their customers. This means any establishment that prepares food ready for consumption by the end consumer (including stalls and vehicles).

Making it clear

The specific requirement is that information on allergens is made available to consumers – but there are a number of options for how businesses may achieve this.

We’ve seen many different methods used for communicating this information including blackboards, menus, allergen information folders, beer pump clips and of course through staff themselves – all are valid and this is by no means an exhaustive list of possible options.

The main thing to focus on is that it is clear to the customer how to obtain the information – should they wish to find out.

Eight things to consider

In many cases, foodservice businesses will already have either completed compliance work or made significant progress toward doing so. However, there are a few things worth considering to ensure that compliance is maintained and continues to help build trust among customers:

• Ensure the information you provide is accurate – mandate the provision of specific data, such as allergens, in the format you need it in from your suppliers, processors, agents or via wholesale distributors.
• Dealing with new lines, new recipes and new suppliers – your food offering will inevitably change; in instances where specific allergen information is required, put processes in place to ensure that it is incorporated in all updates to communication outlets.
• Standardise message delivery – make it easy for your customers by providing consistency in how information is communicated, such as wording used, font size, where they can obtain the information, method (chalk board, signage, menu other) etc.
• Monitor compliance – perform audits or use secret shoppers to ensure compliance is both maintained from a legal perspective, and applied through clear and consistent messaging.
• Educate staff – outline processes to ensure that all staff understand the changes, the need for consistency and the potential implications of getting it wrong. This should also be incorporated into new starter inductions.
• Keep the customer satisfied – as this information will be a lot more visible going forward, staff will be expected to respond to customer requests for it quickly. The ability for staff to demonstrate clear understanding in this area may prove a differentiator for some businesses.
• Provide a modern experience – look at using digital technology such as tablet devices to provide information – though relying solely on them for compliance would not be enough in instances of connectivity outages. Not only can this be a nice way to ‘show off’ to customers, it can also enable a quick method for updating information digitally when changes to recipes or menus are required.
• It’s about more than compliance – making the information available is just a legal requirement; having staff who are able to identify and deal with an allergic reaction should the worst occur provides a level of trust that can help set brands apart in the eyes of customers.

Dealing with the growing demands for information

FIC is not unique in the sense that it requires foodservice businesses to make information available – it is in line with the general trend of more demanding customers, who want to have access to greater levels of information through any number of channels and devices.

This is actually something we’ve been working toward for a while. Two years ago we launched an initiative called the ‘Food Information Challenge', which addresses how information is shared between trading partners and where it can be improved – overcoming this challenge provides a strong framework for maintaining compliance with FIC.

We also published implementation guidelines on a common framework for industry earlier this year, which outlined how to put attributes in a datapool in a FIC-compliant format.

There are many options for achieving compliance and, after the December deadline has been and gone, we will start to understand best practices around what customers respond to and how compliance work can be used to advantage in building customer trust.

There is little doubt that demands for more granular information on what customers are served will continue to grow long after the dust has settled on FIC.