Managing Food Allergies at Truro School

At Truro School, across both the Senior and Prep sites, we are continuously striving to enhance our food and drink services. Since the start of the new year, we have been reviewing and assessing ways to make our allergen and intolerance procedures even more watertight.

Overseeing these improvements is Charlie Fraser, our Operations Manager, who has been working diligently to ensure we are not only fully compliant with legislation but also go above and beyond to ensure food is allergen-free for those that require it.

Seeking advice from staff members with allergies, Charlie has been able to incorporate real-life experiences alongside standard regulations. Staff members with allergies have been sharing personal experiences of their food requirements and consequences of allergens in their food. Their insights have played a crucial role in shaping an in-depth review of procedures in our canteen, tuck shop, and café.

Truro School is a nut-free environment, with one exception: Truro School Cookery. A specific recipe in the Leiths’ curriculum contains nuts, but strict protocols are in place to manage this for any student it may affect.

Recently the kitchen team at the Senior School have introduced an allergen servery which offers food free from gluten, milk and as few other allergens as possible. This separate serving area reduces the risk of cross-contamination and a separate menu is displayed on this servery to allow pupils to see what is in each dish more clearly.

Charlie explained, “We have been serving ‘allergen-free’ food from a designated counter for a while, but it was a shared counter and although the risk of cross-contamination was very small, we wanted to create an area where the risk of contamination is reduced to zero and we think this initiative will achieve this. The serving dishes and utensils on this counter will be red so that it will assist the catering staff and will give confidence to our pupils that the food they are receiving will be allergen-free”.

To further mitigate risk, kitchen staff change their gloves after serving at the main counter, to again eliminate cross-contamination. All utensils and crockery in this area are now red, this is to ensure differentials between allergen and non-allergen foods. Even naturally allergen-free foods, such as fresh vegetables, are served separately to prevent accidental cross-contamination.

New signage is displayed around the canteen to provide clear information on ingredients, helping pupils to make informed decisions regarding their dietary choices or restrictions. This includes signs next to individual food items, labelling on packaged products and general allergen warnings. In the kitchen, staff check allergens when placing orders with suppliers, when receiving goods (in case of potential product substitutions) and a third time when preparing the menu. The menu is typed on a daily basis by Gareth, Deputy Catering Manager, and any allergens are highlighted in purple on signs displayed at the serveries.

In the kitchen, care and attention is taken when prepping and making dishes. We have always ensured a clean workspace to make food, but recently as a school we volunteered for a Cornwall Council led survey of our allergen practices we identified an opportunity to improve our storage facilities. As a result, one of our storage rooms has been repurposed as the Pastry Department and this has allowed all products containing gluten to be stored separately from gluten free products. When baking from scratch, kitchen staff now bake allergen-free products first, ensuring no cross-contamination before producing items containing allergens after a thorough clean-down.

In the Truro School Cookery Café, we now stock gluten-free cakes from BB’s Bakery, a local business that operates a completely gluten-free kitchen. These arrive pre-packed to ensure there is no cross-contamination with cakes that are made on the school premises. We are also following advice from Natasha’s Law guidance in relation to labelling toasties produced by our catering team on site.

At the Prep School, children with allergies are served first, with clear instructions on their trays about foods they must avoid. The cutlery, trays and dinnerware for any pupil with an allergy are purple, so that service can be kept separate. The salad bar has been fully assessed, and it has been confirmed that no allergens are apparent, so that all children can feel included choosing their own food from this station. During food preparation, strict protocols are in place, including using dedicated purple chopping boards, knives, and utensils exclusively for allergen-free dishes

We are pleased to report that after a temporary suspension, fundraising cake sales have now resumed with newly developed safety protocols, including a thorough risk assessment to ensure safe practices. The first sale under new guidelines was led by Mr Blackie, who said, “Form 3G hosted a cake sale in January, raising an impressive £87.75 for the Invictus Trust. We were also pleased to offer some allergen-free cakes, which all sold – along with everything else that we had on offer!”

Truro School is also committed to providing allergen-free food for staff, parents, and guests at events. At our recent Grandparents’ Afternoon Tea, a separate station was set up to provide gluten-free and vegan cake options, ensuring all attendees had safe choices.

In addition to allergies, we are aware that members of our community may have food preferences in relation to religious beliefs and our Chef Manager, Andy Burt, is happy to discuss requirements with parents. He said, “We are happy to work with parents to ensure that we are an inclusive school that caters for everyone’s needs. We have pupils that require allergen-free food, vegan or vegetarian meals, and Halal. We realise the importance of choice and to have food on site that can cater to the requirements of every pupil.”

Looking ahead, we remain committed to improving our food practices to ensure all pupils and staff feel safe and included when it comes to meals at Truro School. We hope that these new changes will be greatly received for those that need them within our school community.

For any current parent wishing to discuss their child’s allergies, intolerances or religious food preferences in more detail, please contact Charlie Fraser at cwf@truroschool.com or Andy Burt at arb@truroschool.com.

For parents looking to join our school, please speak to our admissions department in the first instance at admissions@truroschool.com