Background
The introduction of Natasha’s Law is an important step in protecting allergy sufferers and giving them confidence that the food they consume is safe, but it has presented some challenges for food service businesses. Among them is Dill, a software provider that streamlines catering services in the education sector, working with schools, local authorities, universities, and colleges across the UK.
The new legislation means that all pre-packaged food or drink products for direct sale must have a full ingredient list with all allergens highlighted for clarity. Dill’s systems are used for food ordering, recipe management, and food labelling.
With the advent of Natasha’s Law, it needed a solution that its catering outlets could use to print compliant product labels on-demand. That meant developing a centralised platform that administrators could use to create and distribute recipes with accurate ingredient information from their wholesalers and suppliers across multiple sites, allowing on-site staff to print the labels they need.
The Challenge
Centralised Food Labelling
A significant challenge for councils is the need for a centralised food labelling solution to save time when creating recipes and sharing them with each school. Without such a system, ensuring all food items are correctly labelled with full ingredient lists and highlighted allergens can be time-consuming and prone to errors. A centralised platform would streamline this process, maintaining consistency and compliance with Natasha’s Law across multiple sites. This solution is crucial for improving efficiency and safeguarding the health of allergy sufferers by ensuring uniform standards for food labelling in every school.
Dill & Erudus
Another challenge is the necessity of integrating Dill with Erudus to ensure the accuracy and comprehensiveness of ingredient data. Erudus offers a detailed database of ingredient information from suppliers and wholesalers, which needs to be incorporated into Dill’s platform. This integration is essential for administrators to create compliant recipes and labels efficiently. By merging these systems, councils can ensure that all schools under their jurisdiction have access to accurate, up-to-date ingredient information, thereby enhancing food safety and compliance with the new legislation.
The Solution
• Integrated labeling solutions built around the robust QL-820NWB and TD-4550DNWB label printers, with DK-22255 continuous rolls and 58/110mm heat-proof labels, ensuring compliance with Natasha’s Law
• An easy-to-use, all-in-one solution for PPDS labeling, with seamless integration with Erudus for accurate ingredient information
• In-built efficiency, as recipes are created once and centrally distributed to multiple locations via a cloud-based platform, allowing real-time updates and automated allergen flagging
The Outcome
The result was Dill Print, an intuitive, highly customizable application where administrators use a centralized, cloud-based portal to create and distribute recipes to multiple sites, where information is then updated in real-time. Dill’s customers’ kitchens were supplied with an integrated labeling solution featuring either the QL-820NWB network label printer or the TD-4550DNWB professional desktop label printer, depending on the specific requirements of the site. The kitchens also have access to the accompanying software platform, allowing staff to easily locate and print the label for any specific product being packaged.
• Scalable, efficient, and reliable compliance with Natasha’s Law
• Ability to tailor bespoke labels for specific applications
• Over 1.5 million labels printed ensuring compliance, end-user safety, and allergen awareness
• Central recipe distribution to each site and real-time recipe updates increasing time management efficiency
”Dill Print helped us become compliant with the new regulations. Over 500 items are labelled daily using the solution which improves our day to day operations.
Cheryl DaviesHead Chef at Ysgol Gyfun Gŵyr
