Food Allergy Management Manual for Restaurants and Food Services - Quebec

In Montreal on Monday the Quebec Food Allergy Association (AQAA) released its 2008 edition of the Food Allergy Management Manual for Restaurants and Food Services.

QFAA cited a recent survey that found most restaurant owners were concerned with food allergies.

"[The manual] offers managers intent on ensuring the safety of their clients an approach and methods that will enable them to respond, in a proactive manner, to the needs of a growing clientele of food-allergy sufferers," noted Serge Boulanger.

The manual was first released in 2004.

"This publication brings together the invaluable expertise developed over many years by the various parties and specialized consultants in the area of food allergies working within the Quebec Food Allergy Association," explained the manual's author, dietician-nutritionist Chantal de Montigny.

The manual includes:
- Information based on the latest developments and cutting-edge knowledge in the field of food allergies
- Practical technical sheets that summarize key themes to be taken into account.
- A description of critical points that must be controlled by each category of worker involved in meal production and service.
- Practical cooking tips and substitutes to facilitate the offering of allergen-free meals.

In addition to the manual, the Association is providing customized training developed and dispensed in the workplace or other centralized location by instructors and dietician-nutritionists accredited by the AQAA.

Founded in 1990 by the parents of children with multiple serious food allergies, the AQAA is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide support and information, to promote education and prevention, and to encourage research into food allergies and anaphylaxis.

Author's Note: Three cheers for AQAA and its work to educate restaurant owners about food allergies and how to keep customers safe! If you have food allergy information to share about restaurants in Montreal or other cities in Quebec please send Can I Eat There? an email so we can share with others.