BERKELEY, Ill. – Preferred Meals announced a new Food Allergy Meal System for breakfast and lunch meals that is available for the first time during the 2016-2017 academic year.
These unique, child-friendly foods will be free of gluten and the top eight allergens: milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts and wheat.
The company, which supplies pre-plated component meals to public and charter schools, has prioritized providing many meal options for the growing number of children with food allergies.
“According to the 2013 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food, allergies among children increased 50 percent from 1997 to 2011,” Silvio Herrera, product manager said. “The Preferred Meals Food Allergy Meal System is a safe and easily implementable solution for school districts that may not have the on-location staff expertise to deal with serious and potentially harmful meal preparation for students with food allergies.”
The Preferred Meals Food Allergy Meal System follows a five-day menu cycle, packed in a four-cycle case. Every meal contains a variety of items including brand-name products such as Kellogg’s Rice Krispies.
Ingredients used in the Food Allergy Meal System are free of gluten and the top eight allergens. However, items may be prepared in a facility that also handles wheat, gluten, soy, dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish or shellfish or processed on equipment that once processed those allergens.
The meals are designed to follow the components of the USDA school meal program.
