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What is Products Liability Insurance?

Products Liability Insurance is coverage that protects your restaurant from claims that products you sold (mainly food and beverages) caused bodily injury or property damage to customers.

What You Need to Know

This is your primary protection against food poisoning, allergic reactions, and foreign object injuries. It’s automatically included in your general liability policy as part of products-completed operations coverage.

Why It Matters for Restaurant Owners

Products liability represents one of your highest risk exposures—food poisoning outbreaks, undisclosed allergens, and foreign objects in food generate millions in annual restaurant claims.

Adequate Limits Essential:

Make sure your per-occurrence and aggregate limits are adequate (minimum $1M/$2M, but consider higher).

Prevention and Cost Reduction:

Excellent food safety practices, proper allergen labeling, and quality control procedures both prevent claims and reduce insurance costs.

Allergen Management Checklist

Prevent allergic reaction claims through comprehensive allergen control

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Allergic Reactions Are Severe and Expensive

Allergen-related claims average $50,000-$150,000. Anaphylactic shock can be fatal. Comprehensive allergen management protects customers and reduces liability exposure.

Major Food Allergens (The "Big 9")

Milk

Eggs

Fish

Shellfish

Tree Nuts

Peanuts

Wheat

Soybeans

Sesame

Menu Disclosure & Labeling

All major allergens clearly identified on menu

Use consistent symbols or text notation for all nine major allergens.

Allergen information accurate for all menu items

Review every dish's ingredients. Update immediately when recipes change.

Hidden allergens disclosed (sauces, marinades, coatings)

Butter on vegetables, egg in breading, fish sauce in Asian dishes—all disclosed.

Menu includes allergen advisory statement

"Please inform your server of any food allergies." Encourages disclosure.

Packaged items include ingredient labels with allergen warnings

Takeout, retail items, meal prep—all properly labeled with allergen info.

Staff Training & Communication

All staff trained on major allergens and symptoms

Front and back of house understand severity and recognize reactions.

Servers know menu allergen content thoroughly

Can answer questions without guessing. Know how to find answers quickly.

Clear protocol for allergen orders communicated to kitchen

Written ticket notation, verbal confirmation, special handling procedures.

Staff trained to never guarantee "allergen-free"

Cross-contact is always possible. Disclose limitations honestly.

Management notified immediately of allergen orders

Manager oversight for severe allergy orders ensures extra care.

Cross-Contact Prevention

Dedicated preparation areas for allergen-free orders

Separate stations or thorough cleaning between preparations.

Separate utensils and equipment for allergen orders

Color-coded tools or thoroughly sanitized between uses.

Dedicated fryers for allergen-free items (if applicable)

Or verify fryer oil hasn't cooked allergen-containing items.

Allergen ingredients stored separately to prevent spills

Clearly labeled containers, separate storage areas where possible.

Gloves changed between handling allergen and non-allergen items

Never reuse gloves after touching allergen-containing ingredients.

Surfaces sanitized before preparing allergen-sensitive orders

Clean prep surfaces eliminate cross-contact from previous dishes.

Documentation & Emergency Response

Complete ingredient lists maintained for all menu items

Updated immediately when suppliers or recipes change.