Overview
Own allergen safety, do not just react to it
Level 3 Food Allergen Management is the course for the people a food business relies on to keep allergic customers safe. If you run a kitchen, manage a site or supervise a team that prepares and serves food, the law expects you to know more than the staff you direct and to make decisions that hold up when service is busy. A single mistake with an allergen can be fatal, and the responsibility for preventing it sits with you. This course gives you the depth to carry that responsibility with confidence.
You will cover the 14 allergens and the law that governs them, including the Food Information Regulations and Natasha’s Law for food prepacked for direct sale. You will learn the difference between food allergy, intolerance and coeliac disease, why even a trace matters, and how to prevent cross contamination in a real kitchen. You will build an allergen matrix, train and check your team, take an order from an allergic customer and get the right dish to the right person, and set up an allergen management system that sits inside your wider food safety controls. The focus stays practical throughout. This is about keeping people safe, not passing a test for its own sake.
The course is fully online and self paced. Most learners complete it across several sessions in 6 to 8 hours, and you keep access for 12 months from enrolment. Pass the closing assessment and your CPD certified certificate is generated straight away, dated and named, ready to download and print.
What you’ll learn
What you’ll be able to do
By the end of this course you will be able to:
Name the 14 allergens and explain your legal duties under the Food Information Regulations and Natasha’s Law.
Explain the difference between food allergy, intolerance and coeliac disease, and recognise anaphylaxis.
Trace each allergen to its common and hidden sources and the dishes it turns up in.
Manage allergen risk across sourcing, reformulation, substitutions and precautionary labelling.
Prevent allergen cross contamination through separation, cleaning that removes protein and order of work.
Build and maintain an allergen matrix and give accurate verbal and written information.
Take an allergy order safely, run it through the kitchen and deliver the right dish to the right person.
Set up an allergen management system with policy, records, audits and a culture that holds under pressure.
Course content
Eight modules to work through
Each module builds on the last and ends with the material you need for the final assessment. Work at your own pace and return to any module during your twelve month access window.
1Allergens and the LawThe 14 allergens, the Food Information Regulations and where the duty sits.⌄
- The 14 allergens the law requires you to declare
- The Food Information Regulations 2014 and the duty to give allergen information
- Prepacked, loose and made to order food, and what each demands
- Natasha’s Law and PPDS labelling, in force since October 2021
- Why the responsibility falls on managers and supervisors
2Food Allergy, Intolerance and Coeliac DiseaseWhat is happening in the body, and why a trace can be enough.⌄
- The immune response in a true food allergy
- Anaphylaxis, its signs, and adrenaline auto injectors
- Food intolerance and how it differs from allergy
- Coeliac disease as an autoimmune condition, not an allergy
- Why even a tiny trace of an allergen matters
3The 14 Allergens in DetailEach allergen, its common and hidden sources and where it turns up.⌄
- Celery, mustard and lupin, the ones people forget
- Cereals containing gluten, and the grains they cover
- Milk, eggs, soya and the sauces and bakery they hide in
- Peanuts, tree nuts, sesame and the risk of traces
- Fish, crustaceans, molluscs, and sulphur dioxide and sulphites
4Allergen Risk Across the Supply Chain and MenuFrom supplier specification to the plate, and the risks in between.⌄
- Sourcing and supplier specifications for ingredients
- Ingredient changes, reformulation and the recall risk they carry
- Recipe control and keeping the matrix in step with the kitchen
- Substitutions and last minute swaps that break your information
- Correct and incorrect use of precautionary may contain statements
5Preventing Cross Contamination by AllergensKeeping an allergen out of a dish that should not contain it.⌄
- Dedicated or thoroughly cleaned equipment and surfaces
- Separation and storage that keeps allergens apart
- Handwashing and cleaning that removes protein, not just dirt
- Order of preparation and preparing the free from dish first
- Why a trace you cannot see can still be fatal
6Communicating Allergen InformationGetting accurate information from the recipe to the customer.⌄
- Staff training and knowledge, so no one is guessing
- The allergen matrix and keeping it accurate
- Accurate verbal and written allergen information
- PPDS labelling and the full ingredients list
- Never guessing, and what to say when you are unsure
7Serving the Allergic CustomerFrom taking the order to responding if something goes wrong.⌄
- Taking the order and flagging the allergy clearly
- Alerting the kitchen and running a controlled process
- Delivering the dish safely to the named customer
- Recognising a reaction and acting fast
- Calling 999 and saying the word anaphylaxis
8Building an Allergen Management SystemTurning knowledge into a system that runs every shift.⌄
- An allergen policy that names who is responsible
- Allergen controls as part of your food safety management system
- Audits, checks and the records that prove due diligence
- An allergen culture that holds when you are not there
- Reviewing after any menu, recipe or supplier change
Who it’s for
Is this course a good fit?
Level 3 Food Allergen Management is written for the people who lead others and answer for allergen safety. If you carry that responsibility, this is the level the law expects of you.
Head chefs & sous chefs
Kitchen leaders who own the recipes, the matrix and what leaves the pass.
Supervisors & team leaders
Anyone who directs food handlers and takes charge on a busy service.
Catering & hospitality managers
Managers of restaurants, pubs, hotels, cafes and contract catering.
Retail & deli managers
Those running counters, delis and in store kitchens that prepack for direct sale.
Manufacturing supervisors
Line leaders and shift managers in food production and packing.
Owners & the responsible person
Proprietors who own the allergen policy and answer at inspection.
Assessment
How it’s assessed
The course is assessed by a single online multiple choice test taken after the modules. It can be retaken as many times as you need at no extra cost.
End-of-course assessment
Study details
You can pause and resume at any point, and your progress is saved automatically. There is no time limit on the assessment itself.
Certification
Your CPD-certified certificate
Level 3 Food Allergen Management, CPD Certified
On passing the assessment, your CPD certified digital certificate is available to download and print immediately, with your name, the course title and the completion date. For a food business it is dated, named evidence that the people managing allergen safety are trained to the level their role demands, the kind of record that supports your due diligence defence and helps at inspection. We recommend refresher training every three years, or sooner if the law, your suppliers or your menu changes.
FAQs
