Allergens Legislation: you can make it easier on yourself
19-6-2015
Look for vendors who sell allergen free products! It can make your life a lot easier.
Do you already have an allergy information menu? Is it part of your food safety plan? Late last year we were busy with the new legislation but it’s no news anymore. A lot of restaurants have an indication on the menu that an allergy information menu is available, but there are also restaurants without any information. And of course you also have restaurants who think they can get away with mentioning the possible allergies you could have.
VA Foods, allergen free products
Meanwhile, there are several producers entering the market who have taken the allergens as a guideline for their products. Like for example the Valuas croquette developed by Master Chef Eric Swaghoven from restaurant Valuas (*). Recently we came across the products of VA Foods (in the Netherlands) they sell a line of snacks for those with allergies. They use high-quality fresh and pure ingredients as much as possible and try to avoid flavor enhancers, preservatives and colorants.
The couldn’t make the law easier but you can make it easier on yourself
If you find it difficult to make meals without the allergens, start looking for producers who have already done a lot of work for you. For example, VA Foods sells products such as croquettes, hot dog, puff pastry, ragout and bread. Their products all meet the internationally recognized VITAL-2 standard. So the products are gluten free, lactose free, peanut free, nut free and free from other common allergens. By finding this kind of suppliers, you can make it easier on yourself …
Maastricht pampers guests
10-6-2015
Several visitors of Maastricht were, totally unexpected, pampered last weekend.
Welcoming Maastricht
Last weekend some lucky visitors of Maastricht were unexpectedly surprised by two waiters. They placed a bistro set on various places in the bustling city and invited some visitors to enjoy a cup of coffee with the famous pie from this region and a musical performance. Watch the video impression here.
What you want?
With the “What you want?” campaign the city demonstrates that a visit or experience of the city doesn’t only depends on the hospitable services in hotels, restaurants and retail. The atmosphere and what you can experience are also very important. From arrival to departure, from cultural visitor to shopping lover, the city has to leave a lasting impression to everyone from young to old.
You don’t visit Maastricht, you experience Maastricht
John Aarts, alderman of economy from the city: “Maastricht has no clichés. Boring is a word that doesn’t exist here. Around every corner awaits a new impression, behind every façade a surprise. Although the city is small, it’s unique character is made by the atmosphere displayed throughout the city. You don’t visit Maastricht, you experience Maastricht.”
Daalder mobile payment app
23-3-2015
The Dutch company Daalder launched its mobile payment Daalder app last week, an independent e-wallet for mobile payments in the Netherlands.
About Daalder
Daalder is an Amsterdam based start-up founded by entrepreneurs Renz Millenaar, Reinhard Spronk and Romke de Vries. Thomas de With, former director of the Global Transaction Bank at Deutsche Bank in the Netherlands is member of the Daalder Advisory Board. Business that are connected through Daalder receive payments via the ‘Daalder Webkassa’ (freely translated as ‘Daalder webbased cash register) which makes payments immediately visible. In addition, it is possible to send live updates and special offers to Daalder users.
Bruges gets an underground beer pipeline!
18-2-2015
To get the big beer trucks off the road, Bruges comes up with a new way to transport beer: an underground beer pipeline. Brewery ‘De Halve Maan’, brewer of the beers ‘de Brugse Zot’ and ‘Straffe Hendrik’ has gotten permission of the city council to build a miles long beer pipeline between the brewery and the city center of Bruges.
Beer pipeline
The pipeline is 3 kilometers long and is capable of carrying 6.000 liters per hour. The beer pipeline takes around 500 trucks off the road. With the pipeline it only takes 15-20 minutes to get the beer from the brewery in the city center. Some people are afraid for illegal tapping but the brewers are confident that the beer will be safe.
Food waste recycling Seattle
5-1-2015
In Seattle it is no longer allowed to throw food and food waste in the bin from 1 January onwards. Enforcement of the new rule will start from July, which implicates that each standard family bin that contains more than 10% recyclable and / or food waste will receive a $ 1,- fine on the next waste bill. Multi-family property owners with too much food waste in trash will get a $ 50, – fine after two warnings.
Recycling for companies
This system of warnings and fines applies to all companies. Before, there were only food recycling rules for catering establishments. Bins in (public) eateries used by consumers are excluded if there are sufficient alternatives to recycle food waste.
Waste target of Seattle
Seattle has set a target to recycle 60 percent of waste in 2015 and is putting effort in achieving this. In 2013 they achieved a recycling percentage of 56%, the city dumps 100,000 tons of food waste in landfills annually. With this new law, Seattle want to divert 38.000 tons of food waste from landfills into composting.
Young Flemish chefs party at Café d’Anvers
14-11-2014
A party by chefs for chefs & foodies to close off the young chef campaign by Flanders Promotion.
Young Flemish Chefs
Another edition of ‘Jong Keukengeweld’ (freely translated as ‘Young Kitchen Violence’) with young Flemish chefs took place in Flanders this year. This Saturday 15 November the promotion will finish and the chefs change their pots and pans for decks on Sunday to celebrate the end of the successful campaign. Nick Bril (The Jane) will be one of the Dj’s in Café D’Anvers, a club that will be transformed into a culinairy Walhalla for this occasion. The cocktails are made by the mixologists of The Jane, The Pharmacy and Jigger’s and there is a wide variety of craft beers. Next to that you can taste creations by Foodpairing.com (BE), De Kromme Watergang (NL), Cuchara (BE), Fleur de Sel (BE), Kazen van Tricht and much more.
Flanders Promotion
More than 7.000 youngsters from 18 to 30 years old enjoined the culinairy promotional campaign by Flanders Tourism. They could dine with discount at top restaurants where young talented chefs are part of the kitchen team. Next to the domestic promotion of Flanders Tourism, they aim for the international market as well. Chefs Dennis Broeckx and Seppe Nobels, both from Antwerp, went to Moscow to kick-off the international campaign.
The event reminds of the chefs-for-chefs lobster party at Bridges earlier this year, where chef Ron Blaauw transformed into DJ Ron Blaauw.
Map allergens via Ingredient Information Netherlands
13-11-2014
Within exactly one month, every food provider in Europe is obliged to be able to tell his customers or guests which allergens are processed into a dish or product. It’s a complicated matter and time consuming to have to determine this yourself. Ingredient Information Netherlands supports.
The solution
Ingredients Information Netherlands (IIN) connects the allergens, but also the nutritional values and the E-numbers, to the products you use. Based on this information they give an insight in which allergens, nutritional values and E-numbers that are processed in your dishes. IIN provides you with the solution for the provision of allergen information within your organization; it does this for large or small restaurants, hotels and catering companies.
This is how IIN works
The philosophy behind the IIN software; ‘being transparent in a simple way about all the allergens in food’. The software design is based on your menus, recipes and the products involved and thus provides a custom made ingredients-information package. In addition to allergens you can also gain direct insight into the nutritional values (required by law in 2016) and the E-numbers. In short IIN makes the link between the information provided by your suppliers’ raw material specifications and your own recipes in one database. Through your own ‘My IIN’ you have a quick insight in which allergens the products contain in both your dish and menu. You can print the results and process in a separate allergen menu, display the information on a tablet or smartphone, or even mail it to your guests.
100% custom made
So no sheets of paper, but a web based solution. That means you have access to the information via a PC, tablet or smartphone. The system saves time, you meet the legal requirements, you can receive guests who suffer from food allergies and you create added value for nutrition-conscious guests. Check out the website of IIN, it’s possible to experience the capabilities of Ingredients Information Netherlands in a demo environment.
Use the #selfie in your benefit
10-11-2014
The luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel in Paris created a new example of the use of the #selfie that benefits both the company as the consumer.
Marjolein wrote about it in the beginning of September; the #Selfie as a trend. In that article she provides a few examples, recently she spotted a new one from the luxury Mandarin Oriental hotel in Paris. The hotel launched a ‘Selfie in Paris’ campaign in August 2014. Offering their guests a tour of Paris’ best selfie spots with a private car and driver.
The best #selfie time is yet to come
As from the end of November it will be booming with all the #Christmas decoration #selfies on the social media. In front of the Christmas Tree on famous spots, with the decorated windows at all the big warehouses et cetera. Make use of this #selfie trend by creating the perfect Selfie spot in your restaurant or hotel. As city you can organise your own best selfie spot tour to promote your most photogenic spots as well.
13 December 2014, D-Day for the new Allergen Law
16-10-2014
13 December 2014 is the day, every food provider in Europe is obliged to tell their customers or guest which products are incorporated into their product or dish. At least if one of those products has one of the 14 Allergen groups in it. Does your company already have a menu with Allergen Labels indicated per dish?
Restaurant Hemingway
Hemingway Restaurant, from ‘Grand Hotel De Draak’ (Dragon Hotel) in Bergen op Zoom has already a menu indicating if one of the 14 Allergen Groups are processed in a dish . They have chosen the above solution; a chart. Other restaurants and bars choose to work with symbols. Recently a restaurant owner asked whether it’s mandatory to have this stated in all of his menu’s? You don’t need to publish it on every menu but the information needs to be available within the restaurant, so you are able to inform your guest suffering from an allergic reaction to one of the 14 Allergen product groups.
So if you have a restaurant or a bar serving food, you have to be ready for this Allergen Law within 2 months!
More safety with a fun factor
25-9-2014
A marketing campaign with a dancing traffic light to increase safety on the road. Last July, car manufacturer SMART in collaboration with BBDO Germany placed a unique system in a traffic light in a busy street in Lisbon. The traffic light looked normal at first, but before people started to get bored waiting for the green light, the red man in the traffic light started to dance. The dance moves of the red man were recorded by volunteers in a large installation. The action doesn’t only look great it also served a purpose: because pedestrians were entertained, 81% more people were waiting for the light to turn green.
In 2009 we’ve spotted a ‘Wiki Traffic Light‘ on the website The Fun Theory, where car drivers could answer ‘wiki’ questions while waiting during the red light. Increasing safety with a fun factor, an idea for your town?
