Combatting Food Allergens: Are You Doing Enough?

By Isaac Fletcher, contributing writer, Food Online

Allergens are an ever-present risk for many food manufacturers, processors and consumers alike. In order to guard against the presence of undeclared allergens in food products, food manufacturers should enhance their controls over these substances.

The prevalence of food recalls that are the result of undeclared allergens is evidence that many food manufacturers still face difficulties in adequately preventing food allergen exposure. Although most food manufacturers have some allergen controls in place, fully protecting consumers who suffer from food allergies is no easy task. Despite the fact that undeclared allergens are considered to be a significant hazard and critical control in many production processes, a majority of food-related recalls are the result of undeclared allergens present in products that reach consumers.

In order to better protect consumers, food manufacturers are required by the FDA to list the inclusion of any of the eight ingredients — peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, milk, soy, and wheat — that are responsible for over 90 percent of allergic reactions.

Consumers that are susceptible to allergic reactions protect themselves by reading food product labels. Accordingly, when a label fails to properly display allergen information, consumers are put at risk. With nearly 15 million at-risk consumers in the U.S., food manufacturers cannot afford to have such a significant safety failure.

Although food labeling laws require the identification of food allergens, even in small amounts, food manufacturers are not legally required to include cautionary labels about food allergens that may be accidentally introduced during production. Many firms include warnings about cross-contamination willingly, but such labels are often vague and may do little to actually protect consumers. If a product makes it to market that is discovered to contain an undeclared allergen, the product is labeled as adulterated and a recall must be initiated. Recalls are extremely costly to a company, as product is wasted, company reputation is marred, and profit margins suffer.

Related: Are You Prepared For The High Cost Of A Food Recall?

Better testing regimes and adherence to effective cleaning protocols may go a long way toward lowering allergen risks. Food allergies among children increased by roughly 50 percent between 1997 and 2011, so the stakes are higher than ever for food manufacturers to put proper allergen controls in place. The FDA’s implementation of FSMA will likely serve to strengthen the foundation of allergen controls in the future, but manufacturers need to know how to protect against undeclared allergens now.

Controlling Foodborne Hazards
Foodborne hazards are substances that are likely to cause illness or injury if they get out of control. To protect against these hazards, manufacturers should develop controls for the hazards that are expected to occur and put critical controls in place for those that have the most potential for harm. One approach to this is Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP). This program allows manufacturers to weigh the likelihood of various hazards in the manufacturing process.

Related: How Choosing Properly Designed Machinery Will Reduce Contamination Risks

After an allergenic ingredient is identified and the food manufacturer has determined how the ingredient is handled throughout the production process, points of potential cross-contamination can be revealed. Cross-contamination is one of the biggest contributors to food safety risks, and manufacturers need to guard against any chance of allergenic and non-allergenic foods mixing. Proper cleaning is one of the most basic and effective methods of reducing cross-contamination risk, but even with post-cleaning visual inspection, there is still a chance that some residues may remain on the equipment. In some cases, manufacturers should consider in-plant allergen testing of equipment to verify that no allergens are present after cleaning.

Storage And Transport
Production is not the only time that cross-contamination can occur. When materials containing allergens are stored together in the same area, cross-contamination may result if manufacturers have not established proper storage zones. To lower the risk of cross-contamination, manufacturers should avoid storing allergenic foods above non-allergenic foods and guard against mix-ups of finished products. In an ideal scenario, sensitive products should be stored in completely separate enclosed areas.

Labeling Issues
Even with effective controls and proper storage, undeclared allergens may still find their way into products. Providing the consumer with information about the risk of the product unintentionally containing allergens is important, but vague labeling makes choices difficult for consumers.

Additionally, during label application when rolls of labels have to be run for each product batch and several products are labeled at the same time, it is easy for errors to be made in the application of labels. This is a serious hazard when creating products that have different allergens and allergen risks. Furthermore, errors can occur during printing as well. For example, allergenic ingredients may be unintentionally left off the label if an operator was not aware of its presence in the product. Close attention must be made to avoid products being mislabeled. An automated label or inspection solution can also assist in reducing the risk of creating mislabeled products.