About this course

This course is designed to assist owners, managers and workers in any food business to gain knowledge about food allergens, and to develop best practice procedures for making their food business safe for customers with food allergy.

Who this course is for

This course is for staff working in general food service including restaurants, cafes, cafeterias, kiosks, fast food outlets, sporting clubs, hotels, bars, tours, attractions, functions and events.

This course is suitable for:

• Food business owners, proprietors and managers
• Hospitality workers, front of house staff, hosts, all rounders
• Food and beverage service attendants, wait staff, bussers, food runners
• Bar staff, sommeliers
• Kitchen staff including kitchen assistants, kitchen hands, kitchen porters, dish washers*

*Note: Cooks, chefs and caterers working in general food service should complete All about Allergens for Cooks and Chefs

Course units and learning outcomes

There are four units in this All about Allergens course. Learning outcomes are assessed with short end of unit quizzes and a longer final assessment.

Unit 1: Food allergy overview

• Understand food allergy and the consequences of serving the wrong food to a customer with food allergy.
• Know the difference between a food allergy, a food intolerance and coeliac disease.
• Be able to list the common food allergens in Australia.
• Understand the responsibilities of the customer with food allergy, food service staff and the food business.
• Recognise symptoms of an allergic reaction and what action to take.
• Know where to find further information and tools to help you adopt best practice procedures for food allergen management.

Unit 2: Communicating with customers and staff

• Know how to effectively ask a customer for information about their food allergy.
• Know how to effectively communicate with staff about a customer’s food allergy and food order.
• Understand what the law states about providing food to customers with food allergy.
• Describe strategies that food businesses can use to make sure that customers receive accurate information about the food allergen content of menu items when they tell staff about their food allergy.
• Describe strategies food businesses can use to make sure that the right meal or drink is served to the right customer with food allergy.
• Understand what to do if a customer has an allergic reaction to a food served by your business.

Unit 3: Menus and food labels

• Understand food labelling laws in Australia for packaged and unpackaged foods.
• Demonstrate knowledge of reading food labels and identifying food allergens on a label.
• Be able to identify food allergens in products, recipes, packaged foods, ingredient lists, meal components, condiments and garnishes.
• Understand Precautionary Allergen Labelling statements and what these mean for customers with food allergy.
• Learn about the strategies food businesses can use to know exactly what is in the food they serve.

Unit 4: Practical management of food allergens

• Describe methods used during food preparation that minimise the risk of a customer having an allergic reaction.
• Recognise and manage areas of possible cross contamination in food service.
• Identify common mistakes made during food preparation that can make foods unsafe for customers with food allergy.

Course length

This course takes approximately 45 minutes to complete.

Your progress is saved along the way, so you can stop and come back to the course at any time. It is recommended you complete the course within 2 weeks.

How often to undertake this course  

You should undertake this training at least every 2 years.

Latest version

All about Allergens 2024 (released 18 May 2024)

To start this course Register or enrol

Older versions

All about Allergens (released 4 March 2023) | superseded: 18 May 2024)

All about Allergens 2021 (released 19 October 2021) | superseded: 4 March 2023)

All about Allergens 2020 (released: 15 October 2020 | superseded: 19 October 2021)

All about Allergens 2 (released: 4 April 2018 | superseded 19 October 2021)

All about Allergens (released: 16 July 2017 | superseded 4 April 2018)