Revised formal report proposal

To: Dr. Erika Paterson, ENGL 301 Professor
From: Jessica Lan Barlescu, ENGL 301 Student
Date: July 11th, 2022
Subject: Proposal for Improved Ingredient and Allergen Labelling at UBC AMS Food Establishments

Audience
The intended audience for this proposal is Mohan Vishwa, Senior Manager of Food & Beverage at the UBC AMS.

Introduction of Topic
The AMS is UBC Vancouver’s Student Union. The AMS has been operating since 1915, and its purpose is to hold UBC and the government accountable to the students. The UBC AMS is completely run by elected student leaders, dedicated staff, and volunteers, and it solely exists to serve UBC Vancouver students (“The AMS”). There are currently 8 food establishments in the AMS Student Nest, however not all the menus and items have clear labels of what is contained in each product.

Statement of Problem
Not all food establishments in the AMS Student Nest have clear indications of whether a certain food product for sale contain common allergens or ingredients that an individual would want to avoid due to ethical or health-related reasons. Although some food establishments have signs indicating if a particular item is vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free, these labelling practices are inefficient as it does not indicate if other common allergens are used as ingredients, such as dairy or nuts. Additionally, there are also different kinds of vegetarian diets, therefore unclear as to what might exactly be used as ingredients. This can lead to confusion and if ingested, an allergic reaction. During peak meal hours, food establishments inside the AMS Student Nest can become incredibly busy and crowded. This makes it difficult to approach staff simply to ask if a certain item contains a common allergen or ingredient you are purposely trying to avoid. Furthermore, not all staff are aware of exactly what ingredients are used in a certain food product. This makes the straightforward task of choosing a snack or meal more difficult and may discourage people with dietary restrictions from eating at a particular establishment.

Proposed Solution
One possible solution to this problem is to introduce better labelling that clearly indicates if the food product contains a common allergen or an ingredient that is not part of vegan or gluten-free diets. This label should be placed on the menu or near the packaged item’s label and should be consistent throughout all UBC AMS food establishments to make it easy and convenient for students to find something that meets any dietary restrictions they may have.

Scope
To assess the feasibility of implementing improved ingredient labelling I plan to investigate the following areas of inquiry:

1. Do students with any dietary restrictions or food allergens frequent the UBC AMS nest to get a snack or a meal?
2. Do UBC students who have any dietary restrictions choose to avoid purchasing food from AMS food establishments due to the difficulties finding out if certain food products contain ingredients they are trying to avoid?
3. For students that do have a dietary restriction or food allergy, has it been easy finding out if certain food products contain an ingredient you are trying to avoid at any of the AMS food establishments?
4. Would implementing better labelling on food products help students when choosing a snack or meal from any of the AMS food establishments?
5. What kind of labelling system would work best if it were to be implemented?

Methods
My primary data sources will include surveys I will send out to UBC Vancouver students, as well as observing what kinds of labelling practices are currently being implemented at different UBC AMS food establishments.

My secondary data sources will include online peer reviewed journal articles that contain information regarding allergens, specific diets, and food labelling practices.

My Qualifications
As a student at UBC, I am automatically part of the AMS community. Additionally, I am currently a UBC Vancouver student who has a specific allergen. I occasionally visit the UBC AMS Student Nest in search of a meal but have had some difficulty finding specific ingredient information just by looking at the food label or menu.

Conclusion
Implementing better ingredient and allergen labelling would make the process of choosing a snack or meal at any UBC AMS food establishment faster and easier for anyone that has a dietary restriction. It would also make the UBC AMS food establishments more accessible as it would allow people to know if what they are looking at is safe for them to ingest.

Works Cited

“The AMS.” Ams, 2022 AMS of UBC, www.ams.ubc.ca/about-us/about. Accessed 11 July 2022.