AllerTrain by MenuTrinfo, a national leader in food allergy program services for the foodservice industry, announced that it has recognized Bradenton-based First Watch as its 2019 Best Food Allergy Champion for restaurants.

According to AllerTrain, First Watch has made several strides in the food allergy and safety space, including certifying the company's quality assurance manager as an AllerTrain master trainer and educating its senior operations leadership team. The restaurant company developed custom food allergy training materials for back-of-house staff to increase awareness and implemented an American National Standards Institute-accredited FoodHandler training program to all frontline employees.

In addition to extensive training initiatives, First Watch updated its website with an online interactive nutrition calculator and allergen list by menu item after partnering with MenuTrinfo to update its nutritional analysis to ensure FDA menu labeling regulatory compliance and help the customer make informed, safe decisions. First Watch also recently updated and improved its in-house allergen workflow process for special dietary requests, and is in the process of launching a new online food allergy video through its virtual learning academy to increase knowledge among staff and management in all its restaurants.