Food Allergies and Celiac Disease FAQs
Last edited 07/25/2024
- Are dining employees trained on food allergen awareness?
- Can I filter the online menu to exclude items that contain my allergen(s)?
- Are products that contain soybean oil or soy lecithin labeled with a soy icon?
- Are Beyond and Impossible products labeled for tree nuts (coconut)?
- I understand you use allergen icons, but do you list ingredients?
- Why not list sub-ingredients for purchased products?
- Where can I find a manager during mealtimes?
- Does Penn Dining stock epinephrine in the cafes?
- How do I report an adverse event?
- I still have questions about how Penn Dining handles food allergies. Can I talk to someone?
Q: Are dining employees trained on food allergen awareness?
A: Yes! Special Dietary needs awareness and cross-contact minimization training are key components to our approach.
All managers are required to complete in-depth FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education)-approved food allergy and celiac disease training annually and pass an exam.
Our hourly staff are required to complete annual food allergy awareness training led by our Wellness Team of Registered Dietitian Nutritionists.
Additionally, we retrain employees utilizing a continuous education approach. Weekly food allergy “10@10s” (pre-service education) are given by our managers to our hourly staff in residential dining. At Houston Market, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist from the Wellness Team presents a 10@10 training to our hourly staff members bi-weekly at pre-service meetings.
Cooks are required to pass an annual SimplyOASIS certification in order to work at this station which avoids the top 9 allergens and gluten.
Q: Can I filter the online menu to exclude items that contain my allergens?
A: Yes! Use our online menu‘s filter to exclude menu items that are labeled with any of the top-9 allergens and/or gluten.
Q: Are products that contain soybean oil or soy lecithin labeled with a soy icon?
A: Out of an abundance of caution, menu items containing soybean oil and/or soy lecithin are labeled with a soy icon. Package labels are available for guests to review upon request; please speak with a manager to review.
Q: Are Beyond and Impossible products labeled for tree nuts (coconut)?
A: Out of an abundance of caution, all items containing coconut oil are labeled with a tree nut icon. This includes Beyond and Impossible products. Package labels are available for guests to review upon request; please speak with a manager to review.
Q: I understand you use allergen icons, but do you list ingredients?
A: Yes! Our online menus will have all whole ingredients and sub-ingredients of house-made products listed for each menu item. We cook from scratch using whole, seasonal ingredients, so this strategy covers the vast majority of our menu items.
Purchased sub-ingredient information will not be listed online. This information will always be available within our café upon request. This allows us to provide the most up-to-date information to our guests in real time.
Q: Why not list sub-ingredients for purchased products?
A: Ingredient and product formulations change frequently without notice from the manufacturer.
When we screen the purchased products we receive, we may be screening multiple versions of the same product. We then utilize that information to label the top 9 allergens on our menus. For the safety of our guests, we utilize the most cautious approach when doing this by labeling for every allergen present in our review.
The kitchens at the University of Pennsylvania handle ~2,000 – 2,500 products on a weekly basis making label review and database entry of sub-ingredients upon each delivery virtually impossible.
Most universities that list ingredients and/or allergen information do so based on a product screening that is conducted at various times throughout the year (usually once or twice annually) but not upon every delivery and use of that product. Therefore, these statements are also followed by disclaimers stating the nutrition and allergy information is approximate, based on product and recipe data, and intended to be used only as a guide. Many also state that students with food allergies should speak with the dining services team.
Q: Where can I find a manager during mealtimes?
A: We always have managers available in each of our cafés during mealtimes. Our chef-managers can be identified by their dark gray chef coats.
We understand that you may not always be able to stop to find a manager. No worries! Simply ask any staff member to call a chef or manager and they’ll come to you.
Please remember to always ask for assistance in the moment. The sooner you bring something to our attention, the sooner we can help.
Q: Does Penn Dining stock epinephrine in the cafes?
A: Epinephrine is not stocked in the dining cafe. Penn Dining encourages students who have been prescribed medication by their doctor to treat anaphylaxis to carry it with them at all times in case of an emergency.
Q: How do I report an adverse event?
A: If you or someone you know has signs of an allergic reaction, please take the following steps:
- Get help immediately. Call Penn Police at 215-573-3333 or indicate to someone that you need them to call for help on your behalf. Do not go back to your room by yourself.
- Administer epinephrine and/or other medication as prescribed by your physician.
- Follow up with your physician or a medical provider.
- Notify Sarah Goff , RDN, as soon as possible so she can address your concerns, begin an investigation, and help make adjustments to your eating plan if needed.
Q: I still have questions about how Penn Dining handles food allergies. Can I talk to someone?
A: Definitely! Our Wellness Manager, Sarah Goff, RDN, is always available to speak with students. To schedule a meeting, please email Sarah at Sarah.Goff@cafebonappetit.com.