I. Program Purpose and Scope

The purpose of AllerTrain® is to assist course participants in gaining a thorough understanding of food allergies, Celiac disease, and food intolerances through evidence-based job training. By providing the skills, knowledge, and competencies necessary to ensure safe production and delivery of special dietary needs meals to food allergic diners, AllerTrain® aims to improve overall safety in the food service industry.

The AllerTrain® certificate programs are designed to meet the educational needs and interests of adults working in various aspects of the food service industry, including:

  • Restaurant general managers, owners, and executive chefs
  • Food Safety managers
  • Kitchen staff
  • Front-of-house staff
  • Anyone involved in commercial restaurant operation
  • Primary and secondary school administrators
  • Food service managers
  • Nutritionists/registered dietitians
  • Food service directors

Clients/learners will gain awareness of food allergies, Celiac disease and food intolerances as well gain as an understanding for how to safely prepare food for this group of special needs diners in a commercial kitchen. A broad knowledge of the techniques for preventing cross-contact in the front and back of the house is emphasized, along with safety protocols for emergency situations related to food allergy related symptoms.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites for any of the the AllerTrain courses. Requisites: For each course the learner must complete the entire course and take and pass the corresponding exam.

II. Intended Learning Outcomes

AllerTrain®, AllerTrain® U, AllerTrain® K-12:

  • Recognize the health implication of food allergies, Celiac Disease, and food intolerances/sensitivities on diners (students)
  • Explain key policies needed to provide effective communication to diners with special dietary needs
  • Recall current laws and regulations surrounding special dietary needs in restaurants
  • Describe successful techniques and Standard Operating Procedures for handling allergen-free food in the front of the house
  • Explain proper management practices for food allergies and gluten-free food preparation
  • Recognize emergency situations surrounding food allergies and explain proper protocol for handling a food allergy related emergency

AllerTrain® Lite:

  • Recognize the health implication of food allergies, Celiac Disease, and food intolerances/sensitivities on diners
  • Describe successful techniques and Standard Operating Procedures for handling allergen-free food in the front of the house
  • Explain proper management practices for food allergies and gluten-free food preparation
  • Recognize emergency situations surrounding food allergies and explain proper protocol for handling a food allergy related emergency

III. Deadlines and Late-Registrations

Regular student registration closes 10 business days prior to the start of the course, with the exception of the eLearning courses. eLearning course participants may register and take the course immediately thereafter.

Late registrations to webinar and in-person trainings may be accepted in the course on a case by case basis. There are no extra fees associated with late registrations.

IV. Rescheduling, Cancellations, No-Shows, and Refund Policy for Purchases

Webinar class participants may reschedule any class at any time prior to the class date at no additional fee. To do so, participants must contact the MenuTrinfo® headquarters as communicated during the registration process. Failure to reschedule ahead of the class date will result in a no-show status and a credit for the course will not be issued. Live classes may be rescheduled as long as MenuTrinfo® is notified at least 48 hours prior to the date of the class.

Class cancellations made at least 48 hours prior to the date of the original class will result in a full refund of any payment received by MenuTrinfo®. Failure to notify MenuTrinfo® headquarters of class cancellations prior to 48 hours before the date of the class will result in non-refund.

No-shows who do not attempt to contact MenuTrinfo® prior to the date of the class will not be issued a refund or a credit for a future course as dictated during the registration process.

Within 30 days of purchase, and at its discretion, MenuTrinfo, LLC allows the return of any product as long as the course has not been completed. Shipping and handling is non-refundable and the cost to return items is the responsibility of the purchaser. Refund type is at the discretion of MenuTrinfo.

For refunds from purchases on Schoox, please contact them directly at Support@Schoox.com. If a certificate is awarded a refund cannot be issued. For more information regarding the Schoox refund policy please visit www.Schoox.com/terms.

V. Discrimination and ADA

Non-Discrimination Policy

It is the policy of MenuTrinfo® to serve all individuals who are eligible for its programs without regard to any non-merit factor. Accordingly, MenuTrinfo® does not tolerate discrimination by its employees when they are serving individuals who are eligible for its programs based on any non-merit factor, including race, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability (physical or mental), age, status as a parent, or genetic information. All employees are responsible for complying with this policy in discharging their job duties.

If there is a finding of non-compliance with the non-discrimination policy set forth above, appropriate disciplinary action, ranging from counseling to termination, will be taken against the employee who violated the policy.

Americans with Disabilities Act

MenuTrinfo® fully complies with all state and federal laws concerning the employment of persons with disabilities so as not to discriminate against them, and to provide reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals in all aspects of employment.

An individual with a disability, as described by the ADA is a person who:

  • Has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity;
  • Has a record or history of substantially limiting impairment, or
  • Is regarded or perceived as having a substantially limiting impairment

VI. Appeals Policy

Any examinee who is denied eligibility to sit for the exam, denied accommodation, failed the exam, had an exam terminated due to cheating, has had a certificate revoked, or any Certified AllerTrainer™ wishing to appeal an action resulting from an investigation may appeal the decision by submitting an Appeal Request Form within 30 days of the initial incident. MenuTrinfo® will review and render a decision within 30 days of receipt of this form. This decision is final.

Upon receipt of the appeal, the request as well as all prior documentation (if any) will be forwarded to the Education Department for review. The Director can escalate the concern to the CEO, if warranted or if any potential for bias exists. If no bias exists, the Director will review and make a final decision on the appeal within 30 days of receipt of the written request. The final decision will be communicated in writing, via traceable to the individual who submitted the appeal within 10 days of rendering the decision. Those engaged in the determination of the appeal are different from those involved in the decision being appealed.

VII. Disputes and Complaints

MenuTrinfo® will encourage all complaints to be resolved informally in the first instance. If the learner/client involved would like assistance to resolve a matter informally, they are encouraged to contact us through the website, contact MenuTrinfo® via email, or speak with the CEO directly.

Formal Complaints must be emailed to Info@MenuTrinfo.com. The Formal Complaint will then be forwarded to the person holding authority over the AllerTrain program. Formal complaints must be submitted in writing and contain the reason for the complaint.

 Upon receipt of the complaint, the request as well as all prior documentation (if any) will be forwarded to the Education Department for review. The Education Department will log all complaints in the AllerTrain® Complaints Log. The Director can escalate the concern to the CEO, if warranted or if any potential for bias exists. If no bias exists, the Director will review the complaint and determine an appropriate plan of action within 15 days of receipt of the complaint. The action plan will be communicated in writing, via traceable means, to the individual who submitted the complaint within 10 days of rendering the decision. Those engaged in the complaint resolution are different from those involved in the original complaint.

Submission Procedure

Formal complaints must be emailed to Info@MenuTrinfo.com. The formal complaint will then be forwarded to the person holding authority over the AllerTrain® program.

Determination of the Level of Review

Formal complaints must be submitted in writing and contain the reason for the complaint. Based on the reason for the complaint and the information given, the level of review needed will be determined as minor, major or critical.

VIII. Student Accommodations

Each learner must be treated equally and given equal access to all certificate program features. All Certified AllerTrainers™ should be notified of any accommodation requests at least 10 days prior to the exam date in order to obtain approval from MenuTrinfo® and to prepare for the accommodation. All such requests should be communicated to the MenuTrinfo® headquarters via a Testing Accommodation Request Form. If, at the time of the exam, a learner requests an accommodation that has not been pre-approved by MenuTrinfo®, the examinee can either postpone the exam to take another date OR take the exam without the requested accommodation.

IX. Certificate Use

Certificates are awarded when it has been determined that a participant has acquired the specific knowledge, skills and competencies provided during the training and achieved a passing score on the exam (80% for AllerTrain® and AllerTrain® U, 75% for AllerTrain® Lite). The certificate is valid for a three-year period from the issue date for all classes. The assessment, administered following course attendance, is intended to evaluate whether the desired knowledge, skills, and competencies have been acquired through the course. The program is complete once the certificate has been issued and no further activities are required of the participant to maintain that certificate during the three-year respective effective period. Certificates are non-transferable.

Program participants are not awarded any designations or acronyms as a result of training. They may promote their attendance and certificate to alert their patrons of training during the effective period.

If participants need to replace their certificates, they may replace them through the e-Learning program or by contacting Info@MenuTrinfo.com

Stakeholders may verify certificate authenticity and term validity by contacting Info@MenuTrinfo.com

X. Confidentiality

MenuTrinfo® considers all information you disclose or information that is automatically collected to be confidential. 

We will not disclose, give, sell, or transfer any personal information about our learners unless it is required: 

By law for law enforcement reasons

Other possible uses of your information: We will only use personal identifying information to respond to you, in which case various people may need to see the information provided in order to provide a response to you.

The absolute minimal information to track completion and issue certificates is kept. The only time this information is used after certificates are issued would be in order to:
• Validate/verify certificate status
• Re-print a lost certificate
• Send an email reminder when a certificate is expiring
• Ask for course feedback in the form of a survey

If requested, the learner’s first and last name may be used to share their certificate status with an employer or other stakeholder.

To view security and privacy policies for our eLearning platform, Schoox, please visit: https://www.schoox.com/privacy.php

XI. AllerTrainer Renewal

Any lapsed Certified AllerTrainers® (CATs) will be able to renew within six (6) months of non-renewal date. If it has been longer than six (6) months but less than one (1) year, the CAT must re-take all class content at the discounted re-take price to become a CAT once again. After one (1) year has passed since the non-renewal date, the CAT must re-take all class content at the standard price.

XII. Continuing Education Credits

Students who participate in and successfully pass the AllerTrain®, AllerTrain® U, or AllerTrain® K-12 exam may be eligible to receive 3 continuing education hours though the American Culinary Federation. Additionally, students that meet the program requisites for AllerTrain® can receive 2 CEUs for Registered Environmental Health Specialist/Registered Sanitarian (REHS/RS) through NEHA (National Environmental Health Association). Students who participate in and pass the AllerTrain® Lite exam may be eligible for 1 continuing education credit through the American Culinary Federation. In order to receive these credits both the entire course and exam must be completed.

To receive continuing education hours through the American Culinary Federation the learner should submit their AllerTrain® course certificate to the governing body.

To request continuing education credits from NEHA, the learner must request a form and MenuTrinfo® will provide the proper documentation.

Once AllerTrain® by MenuTrinfo provides evidence of CEUs earned, it is the learner’s responsibility to report those CEUs to the granting organization.

XIII. Updates to Course Content

Jan 2023 – Courses and exams have been updated to include sesame as the 9th major allergen. Effective Jan 1, 2023.

Jan 2023 – Each AllerTrain certificate’s term of validity is 3 years. The previous term was 5 years.