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Allergen tracking for the FDA Big 9.Down to what’s in your sauces.

Tullia records the nine major food allergens for every ingredient in every recipe. It works out each dish from them, and puts the answer in front of your whole team.

What the Big 9 are.

The Big 9 are the nine major food allergens named by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Tullia tracks these nine, and only these nine.

  1. Milk
  2. Eggs
  3. Fish
  4. Crustacean shellfishLike crab, lobster and shrimp. Tullia’s screens call it Shellfish.
  5. Tree NutsLike almonds, pecans and walnuts.
  6. Peanuts
  7. Wheat
  8. Soybeans
  9. SesameThe ninth, since January 1, 2023.

How it got to nine

  1. 2004A federal law, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, names eight major food allergens.
  2. 2021The FASTER Act adds sesame. It was signed on April 23, 2021.
  3. 2023From January 1, 2023, sesame is the ninth major food allergen.

Source: FDA, Food Allergies.

What it means for a restaurant

Those labeling rules are written for packaged food. Most food a restaurant makes to order isn’t covered by them.

The FDA Food Code is a model that states, counties and cities can adopt. It isn’t federal law. Its 2022 edition says guests should be told in writing which major food allergens are in unpackaged food. Rules differ from place to place, so check with your local health department.

Source: FDA, Sesame added as a major food allergen in the 2022 Food Code.

Every ingredient: Contains or Free from.Nine answers each.

Each ingredient gets an answer for all nine allergens. There are only two answers: Contains or Free from.

Common ingredients already come with their nine answers. For anything new, Tullia’s AI sous chef works out all nine. When it can’t tell, like with a house blend or a product it doesn’t know, it asks you.

You see every answer before a dish is saved, and you can change any of them with a tap.

  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano
  • Dijon mustard

How an allergen in a sauce reaches the dish.

Many dishes use things you make in house, like a sauce, a dressing or a dough. Tullia calls each one a batch: its own recipe, used inside dishes.

Worcestershire sauce contains fish. It goes into the Caesar Dressing, so the dressing contains fish. The dressing goes on the House Caesar, so the dish contains fish too. Tullia carries every allergen up this way, through batches inside batches.

Change the dressing, and every dish that uses it is worked out again when you save. If other saved dishes change, Tullia names them before you save.

See every step, from recipe to printout

House CaesarDishMilkEggsFishWheat
  • romaine lettuceNone of the Big 9
  • Caesar DressingBatchMilkEggsFish
    • egg yolksEggs
    • Worcestershire sauceFish
    • Parmigiano-ReggianoMilk
    • garlic, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, olive oilNone of the Big 9
  • Garlic CroutonsBatchWheat
    • sourdoughWheat
    • olive oil, garlic, kosher saltNone of the Big 9
The House Caesar, opened up. Every allergen on the dish traces back to an ingredient line.

Ask where it comes from.Tap the allergen.

On any dish, tap one of the nine to see which lines bring it. Tap Fish on the House Caesar and Tullia shows the Worcestershire sauce, inside the Caesar Dressing.

Tap Fish on the dish and Tullia shows where it comes from.

The allergen grid.Every dish down the side. The Big 9 across.

One grid shows every dish and its allergens. Some kitchens call it an allergen matrix. Pick a menu, or search for a dish.

  • Read it on screenOn a phone or a computer, for the whole team.
  • Print itDownload it as a PDF.
  • Take it with youDownload it as a spreadsheet file (CSV) to open in any spreadsheet app.
Allergen grid for the Evening menu in Tullia’s demo kitchen: five of its seven dishes.
DishMilkEggsFishShellfishTree NutsPeanutsWheatSoybeansSesame
Charred Scallion Rice Bowl
Duck Confit
Grilled Hanger Steak, Chimichurri
House Caesar
Seared Scallops, Brown Butter
Contains Free from

What front of house sees.The same answer, read only.

Servers and hosts get their own sign-in. They can look up any saved dish and see its ingredients, its batches and its Big 9. They can read the allergen grid and download the printouts.

  • Read, not changeNo message box and no Save button.
  • Nothing they can’t useTheir screens show only what they need.

It backs up your allergen procedure. It doesn’t replace it.

What a server sees for the House Caesar. No amounts, no steps.

What Tullia does, and what it doesn’t.

Here is what Tullia’s allergen record covers, and what it leaves to you.

Tullia does

  • Record the Big 9 for every ingredientAs Contains or Free from, nothing else.
  • Work out every dishFrom its ingredients and every batch inside it.
  • Keep a recordOf who saved each dish, and which allergen answers came from you or from Tullia.

Tullia doesn’t

  • Test foodIt records what the recipe and its ingredients say.
  • Track glutenIt tracks wheat, one of the nine. Gluten from barley or rye isn’t covered.
  • Track allergens beyond the Big 9Only the nine the FDA names.
  • Get it right every timeIts AI can get an allergen wrong. That’s why you check each dish on one sheet before you save it.

Ask us about your menu.

Tell us about your kitchen and we’ll show you Tullia.

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