Education and training development for the treatment of food allergies in the HoReCa sector

In Hungary and Europe, there is a growing number of consumers who are sensitive to certain food ingredients, so they are increasingly looking for special foods in shops, restaurants and hotels. However, serving these patients comes with a responsibility. Poor or false information about a product can lead to health damage or, in the worst case, death. Therefore, in addition to educating consumers, it is critical to prepare the businesses serving them to meet modern needs. Allergen management will be a priority for the food supply of the future and must be brought into the education system without delay, where it is currently almost completely absent. That's why we started this project by identifying the problems and the current situation, and initiating change through the education and the regulatory system. At present, the only training in nutrition science including allergen management in Hungary is in dietetics. This field is not covered in cookery, confectionary, and catering education at any level, and unfortunately it is also missing from medical training. Our project aimed to draw attention to this shortcoming and to launch a pilot project to improve it.

The objectives of the project have been achieved as planned. ● A study on the current national and EU regulatory environment has been compiled. ● Based on the consumer needs identified in the pre-project study, we have assessed the current gaps, shortcomings, needs and problems of the HoReCa sector. ● We examined good allergen management practices and solutions in each partner country, and summarized in a study. We sent both studies (legal environment, good practices) to the government, chamber and partner businesses. ● We prepared a set of recommendations for policy makers. ● We prepared a short cycle training material in traditional and online formats in English, Hungarian, Portuguese and Turkish and tested it in a pilot course. Experiences were incorporated into the final material. ● We have started networking through the creation of a database of relevant partners (HoReCa businesses, NGOs), which will help us in our future research, tendering and communication work. ● Through internalization we could examine various aspects of the topic and change experiences, so we could develop our activities on a higher level, besides, our social, communication and digital skills were developed.

Physical results 1.We created a proposal package. In the 1st part, we summarised the regulation of the allergen management in the EU and in partner countries. In the 2nd part, we collected best practices in the HoReCa sector and elaborated on a guide. 2.We developed course materials in traditional and e-learning form, in English, Hungarian, Portuguese and Turkish. 3.We tested the course in pilot courses in Hungary, Portugal and Turkey. 4.In our networking activities, we created an interface and generated a database, where we started to collect our partners with the help of interviews. Other results 1.Through mobilities, we could build an effective project management, we learnt to work together with colleagues from different cultural backgrounds, experiences and points of view. 2.With the help of modern digital tools, we help each other to develop digital skills. 3.Since the working language was English, our communication and language skills were developed. 4.We learnt project management methods and solutions from each other. 5.We learnt the importance of sensitisation methods and started to sensitise students and partners. 6.We raised awareness of the importance of this topic and started thinking about the need for development.