{"id":68426,"date":"2023-06-21T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/?p=68426"},"modified":"2023-09-19T12:17:15","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T11:17:15","slug":"near-miss-reporting-in-hospitality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.highspeedtraining.co.uk\/hub\/near-miss-reporting-in-hospitality\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Near Miss Reporting in Hospitality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With an estimated <\/strong>2 million people living with a diagnosed food allergy<\/a> <\/strong>in the UK, serious incidents can occur in the hospitality industry. In some cases, even trace amounts<\/strong> of the allergenic ingredient can cause a serious allergic reaction. This is why near miss reporting is vital for the hospitality industry and for the safety of its customers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we will outline what is meant by near miss reporting and why it is so important in hospitality. We will also cover how to effectively manage near miss reporting in your hospitality business so that it becomes a valuable preventative measure.<\/p>\n\n\n

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What is Near Miss Reporting in Hospitality?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Of the two million people diagnosed with a food allergy in the UK, <\/strong>one in six of these people experience such severe symptoms that they require medical help.<\/a> This makes managing their food allergies when eating out of paramount importance, and they will need to be reassured that measures are in place to reduce the risk of any harm coming to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the hospitality industry, a near miss refers to a food safety related incident which didn\u2019t cause harm on a particular occasion but had the potential to do so. <\/strong>For example, a customer may suffer a mild allergic reaction after consuming a product which contained an ingredient they weren\u2019t aware of. This would be considered a near miss as no serious harm was caused on that occasion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is important to record any near miss incidents because it highlights where there is room for improvement in your current allergen processes. You can then take appropriate action as the situation could have been much more serious had the customer experienced a severe allergic reaction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food Hypersensitivities<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

It is not only important to report near misses which link to allergic reactions to food, but also to consider near misses linked to wider food hypersensitivities. The term \u2018food hypersensitivity<\/strong>\u2019 is an umbrella term which encompasses food allergies, intolerances and coeliac disease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A food intolerance is having difficulty digesting certain foods, resulting in an adverse physical reaction to them if they are eaten. As such, a food intolerance affects the digestive system, and the symptoms that occur \u2013 typically bloating or stomach pain \u2013 usually present themselves within a few hours of eating the food. While the symptoms are unpleasant, food intolerances are not life-threatening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coeliac disease is a serious autoimmune disease which causes the body to react to gluten in an adverse way. Over time, damage is caused to the small intestine causing symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss and even nerve damage. There are 600,000 people living with coeliac disease in the UK<\/a> and even trace amounts of gluten can cause serious effects. For more information, check out our article: How to Identify which Foods Contain Gluten<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Having a near-miss reporting system in place is a valuable step in ensuring you have adequate procedures in place to avoid cross-contamination. The feedback you can gain from near miss reporting is incredibly useful and should be seen as a way to help improve the experience and the safety of all food hypersensitive customers in your workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on food hypersensitivities, take a look at our article here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why is Near Miss Reporting Important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Near miss reporting is crucial in order to protect customers with food hypersensitivities from harm. Customers should be able to feel confident that the food products they consume are safe for them to do so, whether that is a food product they buy in the supermarket, a meal in a restaurant or a dish from a takeaway. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The process of food production from farm to fork has many steps, and therefore, there are many opportunities for mistakes to happen. This is why information regarding product ingredients needs to be clearly tracked and communicated along every step of the journey. Near miss reporting is helpful in doing this effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Caroline Benjamin at Food Allergy Aware offers a comprehensive auditing programme<\/a> with the aim of supporting businesses providing for the customers who have special dietary requirements. She said: \u201cNear miss reporting reflects best practice and shows a real commitment by the businesses to ensure safe practices are followed to continuously improve allergen management procedures and prevent a fatality from occurring\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The 14 Food Allergens<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Any food has the ability to cause an allergic reaction; however, certain foods are more likely to cause a reaction than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are 14 food allergens that legally must be declared if they are used as an ingredient in a food product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n