Food safety
We are an allergy conscious home-based bakery specialising in gluten free, dairy free and vegan foods. Our kitchen is entirely free from dairy, gluten, eggs, oats and wheat. However, we do handle the following food allergens: celery, crustaceans, fish, mustard, peanuts, shellfish, sesame, shellfish, soya, tree nuts (walnuts, cashew nuts and almond) and lupin in our kitchen. Every effort is made to minimise any cross contamination within our kitchen.
To ensure we produce food that is safe to consume for individuals that has any food hypersensitivities (food allergy, food intolerance or an autoimmune disease such as coeliac disease), we carefully select ingredients that a free from these allergens and follow a strict operating procedure to prepare every item according to every customer’s dietary requirement.
Our operating procedure to ensure this are as follows:
Operating procedures
When food allergens must be excluded from a specific item based on the customer’s dietary requirement, the following steps are followed to ensure there is no cross contamination and that the food is safe to consume.
Before baking
- When a customer places an order, any food hypersensitivities and dietary requirements are recorded and noted.
- The ingredients for this item are carefully selected to ensure that none of the ingredients have come into contact with this food allergen.
- Only equipment that has been dedicated for items that are free from the named food allergen will be used to prepare and bake this item. In our kitchen, we have dedicated equipment (bowls, whisks, cooling racks, cleaning sponges etc) for items that need to be free from soy, nuts, refined sugar etc. So, when a customer requests for a soy free item, only the bowls, whisks, spatulas dedicated for soy free items will be used.
- Once orders for a specific day are received, baking starts with the items for individuals that are allergic to certain food allergens followed by items for individuals that only need it to be gluten free, dairy free and vegan.
During baking
- Once baked, each item is cooled and/or decorated separately.
- Each equipment set is washed separately and stored away once dried to minimise cross contact of the equipment set.
- Hands are frequently washed with soap into one sink and dried with a clean paper towel.
- If necessary, aprons and clothes are changed to reduce person-to-food or person-to-equipment cross contact.
- Care is taken when disposing packages so that crumbs do not spill or fly all over the place.
- Ingredients are frequently checked in case of changes from manufacturer and suppliers are audited for allergen information
After baking
- Once items are ready, they are packaged and stored in the refrigerator to avoid any cross contact while preparing other items.
- Final cross check of each item to ensure everything is aligned with the customer’s dietary requirement.
- Floors and work space are frequently cleaned
- Each item has an ingredient list and a free from sticker e.g. nut free, soy free etc to immediately inform customers that the item meets their dietary requirement.