Please help me with an allergy disclaimer. Does everyone put one on their invoice and within their photo books? I've just been informed by the lady who buys my cakes for her tea parties at a local boutique store that a 6 yr old girl is coming as a guest of the party girl who has allergies. I told her my cakes were not allergy free and she should inform the mother of such. She in turn wants me to put a disclaimer in my photo book. I'm really nervious about this now at her using my cake for her tea party. Pam from Bama

Hi, DId they say what kind of allergy? and how serious because it is a very subjective matter. Having worked in a hotel where you get told some one is lactose intolerant go to the effort of making something then find out that they just can't drink a glass of milk, it can get very fustrating.

As for your photo book, maybe put in something that says all my cakes are made from natural ingredients, however if you do have a food allergy please inform me and we can discuss the options. Then you can say yes or no as to whether you want to deal with them and the responsibilities are back on them to tell you.

Which in my oppion if you have a food allergy be responsible for yourself and let people know about it

Putting a disclaimer in your photobook is an alright idea... just something similar to what you see on food wrappers (*please note that all items may have come into contact with nuts*) and make sure that people ordering from you are aware when they place the order. I think that people now are so conscious of it, that people won't be surprised or put off by your being up-front about it.
In the end, it's the consumer's responsibility, once they have all the information.

All you would have to put is something like

All products contain or may contain traces of;
Milk
Soy
Peanuts
Treenuts
Wheat
Eggs

Or just list all ingredients that you use or have used in the past so it will cover everything.

There are so many different types of allergies, it would be hard to narrow it down to specifics. You might want to put a label stating something like : ALL cakes use some food items that are known allergens to some people. It is the customers responsability to inform me if certain items can not be used in the baking and decorating of any item ordered.

That way, you CYA and make the customer responsible.

I agree with rshippo...rather than stating everything that's in your products that people can be allergic to, just put something that says that if you have allergies to let you know prior to ordering to discuss their options. That way you can discuss with each client their specific needs and work together to overcome any issues.

If you just list the ingredients you use and a client is allergic to one, they might just leave thinking there's nothing to be done, when in all likelyhood, there is probably a substitute you could use that would work just as well. In this case, you've just lost a potential client. If you are able to work with them and give them options, they will remember that personal relationship you had with them and order from you in the future since you were able to cater to their needs.

All of your answers are very helpful. I guess I need to just list all of my ingredients and a disclaimer and make a label like sticker and put on my invoices especially for these tea party cakes that I supply. I don't have any pre-contact with the actual party guests when the cakes are ordered. The owner of the shop has never asked if anyone attending has any allergies I'm sure. She just tells me she needs a party cake and I supply one. Thanks again Pam from Bama

I would just use a generic disclaimer. Because if you put down your specifics and one day you make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before making your cake (or decorating) you can cover all bases even though that ingredient might not be in the cake.

My sister has a child with nut and egg allergies and trust me, she will not let her child eat anything that is homebaked or from a bakery. If she didn't make it, her child won't eat it (and he is only 3 yrs old and understands it already). So basically the 6 year old who will be at your tea party will already know if she can eat it or not.

Good luck with whatever you decide.