Food Safety and Allergen Policy

7eats is a marketplace for meals prepared by independent cooks and meal prep businesses. Food safety matters because food can cause serious harm when it is prepared, stored, labelled, transported, or consumed incorrectly.

This policy explains the responsibilities of cooks, customers, and 7eats. It is not medical advice, nutrition advice, legal advice, or a substitute for instructions from a doctor, public health unit, or regulator.

If you believe you are having a medical emergency, severe allergic reaction, or serious foodborne illness, call emergency services or seek medical care immediately. Do not wait for a response from 7eats or a cook.

After you are safe, report the issue to 7eats at team@7eats.ca with your order number, cook name, meal name, symptoms or concern, timing, and any photos or packaging details you can safely provide.

7eats provides marketplace tools, account onboarding, listing review, payment processing, messaging, and support workflows. Unless we expressly say otherwise, 7eats does not prepare, package, inspect, store, transport, or serve the meals listed by cooks.

We may review cook information and take safety-related actions, but our review is not a guarantee that any meal, cook, kitchen, ingredient list, allergen statement, or dietary claim is risk-free.

Cooks are responsible for food safety in their own operations.

• Follow applicable public health, food premises, inspection, and municipal requirements.
• Keep required food handler certificates, permits, inspections, and business information current.
• Use safe ingredients, safe water, clean equipment, and proper sanitation.
• Maintain safe food temperatures during preparation, storage, packaging, pickup, and delivery.
• Prevent cross-contamination and allergen cross-contact wherever possible.
• Pause orders and notify 7eats immediately if food may be unsafe.

Cooks must accurately describe ingredients, allergens, dietary tags, preparation methods, and any limitations on special requests. Inaccurate allergen information can cause serious injury or death.

• Do not mark a dish as allergen-free unless you can support that claim.
• Do not use dietary labels like halal, kosher, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, or nut-free unless the claim is accurate.
• Update listings when suppliers, recipes, ingredients, kitchens, or preparation methods change.
• Decline special requests you cannot safely or accurately fulfill.

Customers must review meal information carefully before ordering. If you have an allergy, intolerance, medical condition, pregnancy-related restriction, religious requirement, or other dietary concern, contact the cook before ordering and decide whether the meal is appropriate for you.

• Read ingredients, allergens, dietary tags, and descriptions.
• Ask questions before ordering if anything is unclear or important to your health.
• Do not rely on 7eats as a medical, nutrition, or allergy advisor.
• Store, reheat, and consume food safely after pickup or delivery.
• Do not eat food that appears spoiled, damaged, contaminated, incorrectly labelled, or unsafe.

Food safety continues after preparation. Cooks and customers should both take reasonable steps to keep meals safe during pickup, delivery, storage, reheating, and consumption.

• Cooks should package meals securely and provide practical storage or reheating instructions when appropriate.
• Customers should pick up orders on time and refrigerate or consume meals promptly.
• Delivery availability does not remove the cook's responsibility to package and fulfill food safely.
• If a meal is delayed, damaged, opened, leaking, unusually warm or cold, or otherwise unsafe, do not consume it.

7eats takes food safety and allergen reports seriously. Depending on the situation, we may ask for order details, photos, packaging, ingredient information, cook records, customer symptoms, timing, and other information needed to understand the report.

We may take one or more of the following actions:

• contact the cook or customer for more information;
• pause listings, orders, subscriptions, or payouts;
• issue refunds or credits when appropriate;
• remove listings or suspend accounts;
• recommend that affected users contact public health or a doctor;
• cooperate with public health units, regulators, insurers, payment providers, or law enforcement when appropriate.

If a cook, customer, public health unit, supplier, or other source reports a possible contamination, allergen, illness, recall, or unsafe food issue, 7eats may share relevant information with affected users and appropriate authorities.

Cooks must cooperate with safety reviews, recalls, customer notices, refunds, public health requests, and any reasonable instructions needed to reduce risk.

To report a food safety or allergen concern, email team@7eats.ca. Include your order number and as much detail as you safely can.