VITAL Calculator version no.:3.1.4
The VITAL Online application has been rebuilt to improve the performance, manageability and reliability of VITAL Online and its underlying code base. This has resulted in some changes to the way that users will interact with VITAL Online.
The Australia and New Zealand legislation in VITAL Online was updated on 20th April, 2021, to align with the Plain English Allergen Labelling amendment to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Account owners should use the ‘Update All’ Functionality and check the reports produced (two reports are automatically produced to show the recipe pre and post the update). See information below – it is important to understand the significant changes to the ‘Cereals’ category.
The key changes to VITAL Online are outlined below – further guidance on the new version will be added to https://vital.allergenbureau.net/.
Libraries and Tags structure for recipe management and organisation
The Libraries and Tags system replaces the “Permissions” system used previously. Tags are used to organize and filter your recipes – for example, you might use tags to separate different recipe types. Libraries are used to group recipes by user permissions and access levels – this functionality replaces the ability to place permissions on folders and recipes.
Saving and Publishing Recipes
Create a new recipe or edit an existing one – press PUBLISH to access the outcomes and NEW REVISION to make any further changes. All revisions of recipes can be compared using the ‘Compare’ tab
Changes due to Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) legislation in Australia/New Zealand
- Spelt has been deleted – spelt should now be recorded as a hybrid of wheat
- An additional category has been included called ‘Wheat and its hybrids which do not contain gluten’ to reflect the new legislation. Wheat, which has had gluten proteins removed by breeding or processing techniques, can be recoded here. Wheat which has gluten present will be recorded in ‘Wheat and its hybrids which contain gluten’. Note that all data current in VITAL Online which has ‘Wheat’ selected will automatically be moved the ‘Wheat and its hybrids which contain gluten’ category.
- In the VITAL Online Assessment Report for a recipe, a summary of allergens present in the product is displayed in Table 1. The allergens will be listed using the Required Names (from the table to section S9-3 in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code) – this is particularly important for cereals, where gluten should also be declared.
- Changes to definitions for barley, rye and oats to reflect that now these are not considered mandatory allergens unless they contain gluten.
- Changes to allergen names and definitions in line with PEAL nomenclature.
