External vendors provide a range of food provisions across Colleges for various events. 

To ensure all external vendors are registered, insured, and have appropriate food safety controls, ALL external vendors must be onboarded prior to use. 

This page details all the external vendors that are currently onboarded, including a link to their documentation. 

If the vendor you wish to use is not listed, please refer to the ‘New Vendors’ guidance. A process map is linked for guidance on the process.

Please find the External Vendors Introduction & Onboarding Process here. 

Menu Approval 

Once you have selected your vendor, you must submit a copy of the menu to be reviewed by our Executive Chef team using the form below.

Please note: this must be done for every event 10 working days prior to the event.

Please read the detail below carefully ensuring vendors are aware.

Food businesses have legal obligations to identify and declare the presence of 14 major food allergens in their food products. These requirements are outlined in the EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU FIC) No. 1169/2011, which has been adopted into UK law. The 14 allergens that must be identified are:

• Cereals containing gluten (e.g., wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt, kamut)

• Crustaceans (e.g., shrimp, crab, lobster)

• Eggs

• Fish

• Peanuts

• Soybeans

• Milk (including lactose)

• Nuts (e.g., almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, 
  pistachios, macadamia nuts)

• Celery (including celeriac)

• Mustard

• Sesame seed

• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at concentrations of more than 10mg/kg or 10mg/L)

• Lupin

• Molluscs (e.g., clams, mussels, whelks, oysters, snails, squid

The legal requirements for identifying these allergens include:

Clear Labelling: Allergens must be clearly labelled in the ingredients list of pre-packaged 
food products. They should be listed in a conspicuous manner using easily understandable 
terms.

Allergen Information: Information about allergens must also be provided for non-prepackaged (loose) foods. This information can be communicated verbally by staff but must also be documented in written format.

By adhering to these legal requirements, food businesses in the UK can help consumers with food allergies make informed choices and reduce the risk of allergic reactions. Failure to comply with these regulations can result in enforcement action, including fines and penalties.

The University is not a nut free environment, however due to the likely high severity of any allergenic reaction to peanuts and tree nuts, the University has taken the decision not to sell, serve or use unpackaged peanuts or tree nuts on campus. This includes via external food vendors.

There are factors that increase the risk at universities, as students are often away from home, exploring unfamiliar foods.

New Vendors

If the vendor you wish to use is not included in the list above, they must be onboarded. 

To do so, please send the onboarding questionnaire and FAQs (linked below) to the vendor and request they complete it. This will start the process to approve them as a vendor. 

Until onboarded, vendors MUST NOT provide catering at any Durham University site. If onboarded, event organisers will be required to submit a menu with allergen information for each event you supply.

If you have any queries, please contact university.catering@durham.ac.uk.

The process to onboard a new vendor can take 21 days. 

External Vendors Onboarding Questionnaire 

External Food Vendor FAQs