Many schools are using apps and online ordering systems for their school canteens just like some restaurants, cafes and supermarkets. The convenience of ordering and paying for your child’s school lunch is great, but there are risks if your child has a food allergy.
Different apps have different functions. Schools use apps differently.
There are many different apps available for schools to use. Remember, the school does not own the app but has an agreement with an outside organisation that owns the app. Each app has its own functions and features and often the school can choose what parts of the app they wish to pay for and how they use them. Different schools could have the same app but use it very differently, which might include the ability to enter food allergies.
Allergy alerts
Different apps can offer different options for allergy alerts. The school canteen may choose to turn allergy alerts on or off depending on how they run their canteen. There is also the risk that even if there is a way to enter your child’s food allergies into the app, this information is not passed on to the canteen. Sometimes there are no processes in the canteen to make sure a child with food allergy has food made separately to reduce the risk of an allergen being added or cross contamination with a food the child with allergies must avoid.
Menu items and ingredients
When eating out at a restaurant or cafe, menus do not always match what is cooked in the kitchen. Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia does not support listing allergens on a menu because the information is often not kept up to date and people with food allergies might not think they need to tell staff about their allergies and ask what is in their food. This is the same with menus or dietary labels on canteen apps. Schools decide their menu, what food products they use and how they display the information on the app. This includes allergen information, which can change without the app being updated.
The app company does not have control over what the canteen offers. There is always a risk that the ingredients in a recipe or food product change in the kitchen, but this change is not shared with the menu in the app. It is often unclear who is responsible for updating this information.
If your child’s school is using an app or online ordering for the canteen, we recommend you visit the canteen and discuss how allergy information is communicated and what processes are in place to reduce the risk for your child. If the canteen can’t answer your questions about the app, it may be safer for your child to order food another way. It might be best for you to have a conversation with the canteen manager about the content of a food item or ask them to send you ingredient information the day before you plan to order it.
Although canteens are food service providers, just like restaurants and cafes, online food ordering is relatively new and not as safe as ordering food in person and talking with the person offering the food. Food safety laws have not caught up with online food ordering and the rules and responsibilities of all involved in online ordering remain unclear. It is recommended that anyone with food allergy using an app or online ordering also contact the food service provider (in this case, the school canteen) to make sure that the canteen staff, including volunteers, are aware of food allergies and the processes in place to reduce the risk of your child being given a food that contains an allergen or has been made with other food where cross contamination is a high risk.