Allergens in Alcohol – How Do We Know What We Are Drinking?

If an alcoholic beverage has alcohol content higher than 1.2%, then it isn’t required to include a list of ingredients. Despite this, companies are required to be able to declare whether their products have any of the 14 allergens from the Annex II list.

This means that potential allergens could be present within alcoholic beverages without the customer knowing, due to a lack of transparency.

This means that post-restriction pints might be a moment for bliss for those of us who are blessed with a lack of allergies. However, it is a more stressful experience for those who don’t have complete confidence that their drink won’t induce anaphylaxis.

To increase transparency and help those with allergies put their minds at ease, it is good practice for alcohol manufacturers to include ingredient lists with their products, or for pubs to have a full list of ingredients for the beverages they are serving on-hand so customers with allergies can drink with confidence.

However, this is easier said than done. The truth is, there are many steps involved in getting the ingredient list to the label, and detrimental mistakes can happen along the way if effective measures haven’t taken place earlier on in the supply chain.

Organisation is key, and ARCUS^® Product Information Management (PIM) provides a central product database that allows professionals to collect, approve and manage large volumes of product data and specifications.

Here are four ways ARCUS^® PIM can help manage product information:

Easier to request specific allergen information.

ARCUS^® PIM allows you to on-board supplier product information by sending over customisable questionnaires, which will allow you to collect relevant information from your suppliers about your products, this can include detailed information surrounding allergens, which are entered directly into the system, eliminating any concern about re-keying errors.

Enhanced searching and reporting.

ARCUS^® PIM can use its advanced search functionality to examine keywords and data within documents to help ensure product compliance, a particularly useful feature that will help ensure those with allergens can have confidence in the product because due diligence has been ensured from the very beginning.

Integrates with other systems to reduce further re-keying of information.

ARCUS^® PIM also has several possible integrations to further ease the process of transferring information and forming one streamlined process, via our native API, ARCUS^® Connect. The integration with Fourth’s Recipe & Menu Engineering solution enables the transfer of critical allergen, nutrition, packaging, and pricing information automatically without the need for re-keying.

Automated reminders to ensure milestones are met.

ARCUS^® PIM operates via configurable workflows for product approvals. When the product reaches a particular stage in the workflow, it is sent to the correct personnel for the task to be completed, ensuring it meets every stage in the process. Automated reminders are sent out, so approval deadlines are met on time.

To learn more about the importance of monitoring critical allergen-related information, please have a look at our White Paper, or contact us at Trade Interchange today.