Allergy Labels in the Mensa  [21.02.22]

In the "Better would be better" series, you vote for suggestions for improvement in the Online Courier. The editorial team asks the responsible contact persons. Today: "Allergy labels in the Mensa". Mensa manager Bernd Dubrau answers. The Mensa can also put a green check mark on an older proposal: As of last week, the menu on the screens is also displayed in English.

Suggestion:

"The allergy information on the website and in the Mensa partly contradict each other. In general, there are few offerings for people with celiac disease. I would be happy if there would be something gluten-free more often than 1 time a week. But more important would be first that the labeling matches."

Answer:

Bernd Dubrau, Mensa Director

 

 

"Due to delivery bottlenecks, it frequently happens that we get a different product delivered at short notice than originally planned, e.g. ravioli with egg instead of without. Unfortunately, this has increased considerably recently due to Covid.

In such a case, we correct the information on the ingredients manually in our display system in the Mensa. So on the screens on site you will always see the daily updated and valid information.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to make short-term adjustments on the website, as it is created centrally for all Mensas of the Student Services and the information on ingredients is automatically taken from the database. We are therefore adding a note to the website stating that short-term changes to the recipe are possible and that in each case the daily updated display on site is valid.

Even though there is unfortunately no other solution for the display on the website, we have taken the suggestion as an opportunity to further develop our display system on site.

From now on, the ingredients will be displayed on the screens not only for the complete menu, but also for the individual components. This means that you can, for example, put together your own gluten-free meal by combining components from different menus. If you have any questions about ingredients, please feel free to ask the staff at the serving counter at any time.

At the same time, we were also able to use this opportunity to implement an older 'Better would be better' suggestion: From now on, all dishes on the screens will also be displayed in English on a rotating basis. In addition, calories and nutritional information will soon be displayed for the "Mensa vital" menu.

There is also news about another 'Better would be better' suggestion: As previously announced, we will eliminate disposable cups in the cafeteria for sustainability reasons as soon as our existing cups are used up. We're gradually running out, so we're now planning the switch for the start of the semester in April."