This information notice was drafted on 25/06/2025.
DR SCHÄR AG/S.p.A. is committed to ensuring the accessibility of its website www.schaer.com in accordance with Legislative Decree of 27 May 2022, No. 82, implementing European Directive 2019/882.
DR SCHÄR AG/S.p.A. believes that it is a collective moral obligation to allow everyone to access information, products, or services without encountering obstacles or barriers, so that everyone can live with dignity, equality, and independence. For this reason, resources have been invested to make the website easier to use and more accessible to all, including people with disabilities.
In compliance with Legislative Decree 82/2022, the following information is provided:
- Information on the assessment of how the service meets accessibility requirements and clarification of the applicable requirements;
- General description of the service, in accessible formats;
- Descriptions and explanations necessary to understand how the service works;
- Description of how the service meets accessibility requirements;
- Information demonstrating that the service delivery process and related monitoring ensure the service’s compliance;
- Support and reporting of any accessibility issues.
Accessibility Requirements and Applicable Criteria
The requirements for digital accessibility are set out in Legislative Decree No. 82 of 27 May 2022, implementing European Directive 2019/882.
The website content must comply with the criteria established by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at levels A and AA, as well as with the technical standard UNI EN 301549. The four fundamental principles of digital accessibility, as defined by WCAG 2.1, are:
- Perceivable – Content is presented in a clear and understandable manner.
- Operable – The interface is easily navigable by all users.
- Understandable – Information and operations are intuitive and easy to interpret.
- Robust – The site is compatible with the most common assistive technologies.
In line with the above legislation, the self-assessment model published by AgID clearly lists the 50 success criteria to be used to verify a website’s accessibility.
The accessibility guidelines for IT tools published by the same agency also clarify that web content includes both textual and non-textual information, downloadable documents and forms, and forms of two-way interaction, such as the processing of digital forms and the completion of authentication, identification, and payment processes.
Of the 50 success criteria specified by the applicable technical standards, the following is considered not applicable to this website:
Areas Excluded from Application
Article 1, paragraph 5 of Legislative Decree No. 82/2022 states that the provisions of the decree do not apply to the following website content and mobile applications:
- Time-based media that was pre-recorded and published before 28 June 2025;
- Office file formats published before 28 June 2025;
- Maps and online mapping services, provided that essential information for navigation is made available in an accessible digital format;
- Third-party content that is neither funded nor developed by the relevant economic operator, nor under its control;
- Website and mobile application content considered to be archives, meaning they contain only content that has not been updated or modified after 28 June 2025.
General Description of the Service
This website is aimed at end consumers and provides commercial information about the gluten-free food products offered by the company. It also serves as a loyalty platform through its dedicated recipe section and offers informative content for those who need to follow a gluten-free lifestyle.
The main features are listed below:
- Product Catalogue: A section featuring a wide range of gluten-free products divided into categories (bread, pasta, flour, snacks, frozen foods, etc.). Each product has a detailed page including description, ingredients, allergens, nutritional values, and usage tips. Users can also filter products based on dietary needs (e.g. lactose-free, vegetarian).
- Recipe Browsing: A section dedicated to recipes that can be made using Schär products, categorised by type and course. Each recipe includes ingredients, preparation time, number of servings, dietary type, and step-by-step instructions.
- “Schär Club” Section: A reserved area where users can create and personalise their profile, save favourite recipes, pin interesting articles, and enhance their experience by becoming active members through rating recipes and products.
- Insights and Informative Sections: Pages dedicated to presenting the company and its products, along with in-depth content on coeliac disease.
- Blog: A collection of articles organised by topic, all related to coeliac disease.
- Partner Consultation: A section showcasing partner companies, mainly restaurant chains, that use Schär products in their gluten-free menu offerings.
- Chat Bot: An interactive chat bot available on the website to explore gluten-free topics.
- Contact Page: A page with contact details including phone number and email. Users can also initiate a chat or fill out a contact form.
- Symptom Test: An interactive quiz allowing users to self-assess their gluten intolerance.
- Store Locator: An interactive map with postcode/city search to find shops, pharmacies, and supermarkets that sell Schär products. This section is available only in certain countries.
Service Functionality
The website is accessible from desktop, tablet, and smartphone devices using all major web browsers currently available. It is offered in multiple languages, and some features may vary depending on the selected language (e.g. the presence or absence of the store locator).
The site’s navigation is designed to be intuitive and consistent, with a main menu that provides direct access to the most relevant sections (products, recipes, about us, nutrition, living gluten-free, Schär Club).
Below is a detailed overview of how the main services on the site function:
- Product and Product Sheet Browsing: Users can explore the company’s product range by clicking on the “products” menu and filtering by category. After selecting a product of interest, users can view its technical sheet, which includes ingredients, storage method, nutritional values, and a brief textual description. On the same page, users can also rate the product and view ratings from other consumers.
- Recipe Browsing: Under the “recipes” menu, users can browse a variety of recipes made with Schär products, organised by type and course. By clicking on a specific recipe tab, users can access all the instructions needed to recreate the dish. Recipes can be saved, downloaded, or shared. A dedicated button also allows users to copy the list of ingredients.
- Chat Bot: The chat bot is available on all pages of the website via the icon at the bottom right. Once activated, users can interact with the bot and ask questions via written or voice chat.
- Information Requests: Users can contact the company by clicking the “contacts” menu item in the footer. On this page, users can choose to use the listed email and/or phone contacts or fill out the provided contact form.
- Schär Club Registration or Login: Users can register for the Schär Club or log into their account by clicking the button at the top right. Password recovery is also available on the same page.
- Access to Insights, Information, and Blog Articles: By clicking on the “about us”, “nutrition”, and “living gluten-free” menu items, users can access editorial and informative content about coeliac disease and the company’s products.
- Symptom Test: By clicking the “Symptom Test” menu item in the footer, users can take a multiple-choice quiz to self-assess their likelihood of coeliac disease. At the end of the quiz, users receive a downloadable PDF with their results.
- Store Locator: For some countries, users can access the store locator by clicking the “find your store” menu item. On this page, users can select a geographic area of interest and receive a list of all nearby retailers, including addresses and phone numbers.
- Partner Consultation: By selecting the Italian language and navigating to the “living gluten-free” menu and then the “out-of-home partners” submenu, users can view key restaurant partners in Italy that use Schär products.
Meeting Accessibility Requirements
DR SCHÄR AG/S.p.A. has implemented solutions to make its website accessible and compatible with assistive technologies, with the aim of improving usability for all users.
Following specific technical assessments, a technical report was produced identifying the corrections and improvements needed to meet compliance criteria.
The accessibility features implemented on the website and available to users include, but are not limited to:
- Compatibility with assistive technologies (e.g. NVDA, JAWS)
- Keyboard navigation
- Adequate colour contrast
- Text alternatives for graphic and multimedia content
- Zoom and font resizing
- Subtitles for multimedia content and text transcripts
- Animation control and reduction of non-essential motion
- Forms and input fields with clear labels for easier interaction
To further enhance accessibility and user experience, the website integrates the UserWay PRO widget. Its use is completely free for website users and helps improve the site's compliance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1).
UserWay PRO offers a wide range of features to improve website accessibility and user experience, accessible via a dedicated panel by clicking the widget icon or using the keyboard shortcut CTRL+U. These features include:
- Screen Reader: Reads all page content aloud without requiring an external reader.
- Dictionary: Allows access to dictionary lookups without leaving the website. Essential for users with cognitive disabilities or non-native English speakers.
- Larger Text: Increases text size on screen with four levels of magnification, improving readability.
- Saturation: Adjusts site colour intensity to high, low, or greyscale.
- Contrast: Inverts site colours or switches between light and dark contrast modes.
- Smart Contrast: Ensures all site colours fully comply with ADA standards, enhancing content visibility.
- Highlight Links: Emphasises links, buttons, and other interactive elements with high-contrast colours, improving usability and navigation.
- Pause Animations: Stops auto-updating or moving content that may be distracting or trigger seizures in at-risk users.
- Text Spacing: Adjusts text and line spacing to improve readability for dyslexic and visually impaired users, with three levels of adjustment.
- Line Height: Increases line spacing for more comfortable reading.
- Text Alignment: Aligns text left, right, or centre for a more personalised and accessible reading experience.
- Dyslexia-Friendly Font: The “UserWay Dyslexia Friendly” font improves readability and provides a smoother reading experience for users with dyslexia.
- Large Cursor: Enlarges the standard cursor by 400% to keep it visible at all times, enabling easier navigation through links, tabs, and form elements.
- Tooltips: Displays alternative text and ARIA labels for on-screen elements on hover. These tooltips are high-contrast and easy to read for users with low vision.
- Page Structure: Quickly reveals page headings, landmarks, and links in a clear, structured, and accessible format, helping all users—especially those with disabilities—find content more efficiently.
In addition to the features users can activate from the accessibility menu, the UserWay PRO widget can detect numerous site non-conformities and apply real-time corrections without altering the source code—only what is rendered in the browser. This makes the website more usable for all end users, including those using assistive technologies.
Compliance Status
To determine the website’s compliance status, the guidelines and self-assessment model provided by AgID were used. A technical audit conducted by an accessibility expert determined the following status, as of the date this statement was drafted or last updated:
This website is partially compliant with the requirements set out in Appendix A of the UNI CEI EN 301549 standard due to the following non-conformities:
- Some web pages do not comply with the requirements of Chapter 9 “Web” of the UNI CEI EN 301549 standard.
- Some downloadable PDF files do not comply with the requirements of Chapter 10 “Non-web documents”.
Specifically:
- Some images on certain pages lack adequate or consistent textual descriptions, making it difficult for screen readers to interpret their content or function.
- In some cases, links do not clearly indicate their destination or purpose, especially when associated with images lacking descriptions.
- Some visual information is not properly structured in the code (e.g. lists or headings), which may hinder navigation with assistive technologies and disrupt content hierarchy.
- There is a lack of visible keyboard focus indicators in some sections, making it difficult to determine the current navigation point without a mouse.
- Some buttons or interactive elements are not fully keyboard-compatible or lack descriptive labels, creating potential barriers for users with motor or visual impairments.
- Some frames and page components do not provide sufficient information about their role or content, limiting usability for assistive technology users.
This accessibility statement also considers as resolved the non-conformities corrected by the UserWay PRO widget, as the changes it applies meet the success criteria required by current regulations.
Service Delivery and Accessibility Monitoring Process
DR SCHÄR AG/S.p.A. has paid particular attention to the service delivery process to ensure it meets the requirements defined by digital accessibility regulations, also relying on the support of external consultants for the following activities:
- Technical accessibility audit of the website through a gap analysis
- User testing of key user flows, including the use of assistive technologies
- Analysis of technologies, plugins, and third-party services implemented on the site
- Reporting of gaps and non-conformities identified during the technical audit and testing
- Correction of non-conformities through code adjustments and UserWay technologies
- Validation of the corrections made
- Preparation of accessibility documentation available to the public
- Staff training on best practices for digital accessibility
- Definition of internal policies and procedures for managing user support requests
DR SCHÄR AG/S.p.A. intends to carry out periodic technical audits to ensure the website remains accessible over time, implementing improvements as needed, including those based on user feedback.
Technical audits are conducted by an external consultant specialising in accessibility, using up-to-date tools in line with current regulations to reassess compliance through various methods: semi-automated code checks, manual user testing, and the use of assistive technologies.
Support and Reporting Issues
If you experience difficulty accessing content or features on the website, or require any further assistance, you can send a message to the following email address: accessibility@schaer.com.
In your message, please include:
- Full name
- URL or section of the website related to the issue
- A clear and concise description of the problem encountered
- Tools used (operating system, browser, any assistive technologies)
- Any suggestions for improving accessibility
Reports will be addressed as quickly as possible and may contribute to the ongoing improvement of the website’s accessibility.
