It's Allergen Awareness Week!

It’s Allergen Awareness Week!

How Edsential Catering Keeps Pupils with Allergies Safe – Every Day of the Year

At Edsential Catering, we understand that for parents and carers of children with allergies and intolerances — trust, clarity, and consistency are essential.

With thousands of pupils enjoying our freshly prepared meals every day, our teams go above and beyond to ensure every child feels safe, supported, and included at lunchtime.

Why Our Allergy Process Works

Our approach to managing allergies and intolerances is built around proactive communication, robust procedures, and genuine care. We work closely with schools, parents, and the local council to develop tailored plans that ensure each child’s needs are met — without compromise.

Here’s how we do it:

Clear Responsibilities – We have well-established roles for Edsential HQ, Catering Supervisors, Kitchen Assistants, School Staff, Parents and Carers.
Fully Trained Staff – Every member of our catering team receives comprehensive allergen awareness training, with regular updates.
Safe Preparation – All meals are freshly prepared on-site, with allergen separation and rigorous cross-contamination controls in place.
Open Dialogue – We keep lines of communication open with families, supporting them through transitions, queries, and concerns.

New Changes We’ve Introduced This Year

We’re always looking to improve — and this year, we’ve made several key updates to strengthen our allergy management process even further:

Allergen Refresher Video Training – All our kitchen staff now refresh their allergen knowledge through engaging and interactive video training as well as their regular training.

Refreshed School Resources– From kitchen checklists to developing a video for school staff to watch, we’ve refreshed our visual guidance across schools to reflect the latest best practices.

A New Allergen Policy for CWAC Council – We worked closely with CWAC Council to develop a new allergen policy that is used across the county.

Allergen Awareness Week Campaigning – This internal and external campaign helps raise awareness of allergens best practices — supported by real-life case studies and feedback from parents.

What Our Schools Are Saying

This Allergen Awareness Week, we’re proud to share a video of some of our schools who’ve experienced our allergy process in action.

A Word from Tracy, Head of Catering

“Every child deserves to enjoy their lunch without worry — and every parent deserves peace of mind.
At Edsential Catering, we treat allergen management with the seriousness it deserves, but also with warmth and care. It’s about more than policies — it’s about people, and we’re proud of the relationships our teams build every day.”

— Tracy Moore, Head of Catering, Edsential

Keeping Every Child Safe

If you’re a parent, carer or school leader who would like to find out more about how we manage allergens and medical diets, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our friendly team via catering@edsential.co.uk