Berwick Academy Canteen
We serve a wide variety of hot and cold meals and snacks every day. With a breakfast service from 8.20am and a lunch service for all year groups. Students pay via a payment card which we issue in school, which can be topped up at home by parents/carers. Those in receipt of free school meals have their accounts topped up automatically.
Natasha's Law - a guide for parents/carers
Natasha's Law is legislation passed in October 2021 relating to the declaration of allergen information on pre-packed for direct sale (PPDS) food. The law takes its name from the tragic death of a teenager named Natasha, who died from an allergic reaction to undeclared sesame seeds in a pre-packaged sandwich.
The law makes it a legal requirement to clearly display information about potential allergens on food packaging for PPDS food. Natasha's Law was implemented in October 2021 and in line with The Food Standards Agency's expectations, we ensure that our students and staff can feel safe when eating food from the school.
This is food which has been packaged before the customer has chosen it. This can include
- Any food packaged by the school and sold on the premises such as sandwiches.
- Fast food wrapped or packaged before the customer selects it.
- Potted items with lids on.
- Packed lunches for students on school trips.
Food not affected by Natasha's Law includes:
- Food not in packaging
- Food which is loose before a customer selects it and packaged afterwards
- Loose food which was not packaged at the point it was ordered
- Food supplied by other businesses.
There are 14 allergens which are labelled:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten and wheat such as barley and oats
- Crustaceans such as crabs, prawns and lobsters
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs such as mussels, oysters, snails and squid
- Mustard
- Nuts such as almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, pistachio nuts and walnuts
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Soybeans
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites if they are at higher concerntations than 10mg/kg
These 14 allergens are clearly indicated on labels.
To ensure the safety of our school community, we will:
- List all ingredients on the labels of any food that was made on site and packaged prior to being selected
- Ensure we emphasise any potential allergens present each time they appear in the ingredients list, along with minimising the amount of allergenic ingredients where possible.
- Train staff to be aware of their responsibility to provide correct allergen information.
- Ensure that staff are trained in allergy awareness and how to respond to an allergy sufferer's questions.
- Coach and assess our staff regularly to be sure they are confident in dealing with allergens
- Maintain an appropriate policy
- Ensure all documentation is revised and conveyed to our staff.
- Engage with suppliers and build good relationships to ensure they keep updated on any product or ingredient changes quickly and inform us of them.
- Act on all updates or ingredient changes immediately to provide reassurance when buying food.
In order to protect the staff and students in our school, we recommend that parents/carers label any food potentially containing allergens you prepare for any school events or activities.
Please do not send any items containing nuts into school.
We have designated Anne Hudson, Catering Manager, to be our allergen champion. Anne is in charge of coordinating allergy management and ensuring there is clear communication between those at the different stages of the catering process flow. You can contact the allergen champion via email to hudsona@berwickacademy.co.uk to find out more, or to ask any questions you may have regarding your child's allergens and the actions taken in school to ensure safe practices.
