For the third year in a row, MenuTrinfo hosted a food allergy symposium (FASI) for the top brands and universities in the food industry. The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t slow down any plans. In fact, because of its new virtual platform, people from across the nation were able to attend. Based on a recent study released by FARE, food allergies are on the rise at an alarming rate. With over 32 million Americans at risk of anaphylaxis due to a food protein (doubled from 16 million in 2011), the industry is charged with providing allergy safe options for consumers.
“At MenuTrinfo, it’s our mission to protect lives and health through nutrition and training. We were incredibly proud to host FASI 3.0 and see so many industry leaders across the nation come together virtually.” Said Betsy Craig, President & Founder, MenuTrinfo “Even after a year of zoom fatigue, I was thrilled to see so many people invest the time and tune into FASI. These are the heroes who are truly passionate about delivering confidence in their packaging and their food to those suffering with food allergies.”
This years’ symposium included a great mix of prominent speakers including Dr. Stephano Luccioli from CFSAN; Mary C. Vargas, Esquire: Stein & Vargas, LLC; and Dr. Mustafa from Rochester Regional Health. FASI was held over zoom on February 24 and 25 with nearly 200 industry professionals across the country registered to attend.
“From the quality of speakers, the chef demonstrations and the engagement by attendees, Unilever Food Solutions was thrilled to partner with MenuTrinfo to support FASI 2021.” – Joy Dubost, Head of Nutrition and Health, External Engagement, at Unilever North America.
Another prominent statistic released by FARE is that 1 out of every 4 American consumers are avoiding products that contain the top 9 food allergens. This equates to 85 million people with $19 billion in annual buying power. CPG’s that are catering to these consumers are tasked with providing clear and consistent food allergen labeling as well as enforcing strict protocols and procedures at distribution and production levels. Because of this need in the industry, MenuTrinfo hosted the first annual Food Allergy Symposium for CPG in March 2021.
MenuTrinfo is a one-stop-shop for restaurants, education food service providers, and companies producing consumer packaged goods who are catering to the food allergy community. Our mission is to protect lives and health through nutrition and training, and we do so in our suite of services. By providing three major services: certified nutritional information and food allergy/ gluten-free identification in recipes, food safety and allergen/gluten-free training, and full-service kitchen audits for facilities and products known as “Certified Free From” any of the top 8 allergens, MenuTrinfo is dedicated to making the food-service industry safe for those dining with food allergies and sensitivities.
