Allergenmanagement in der Lebensmittelindustrie

Abstract

Due to the lack of causative immunotherapies, individuals with food allergies have to rely on correct labelling for even minute amounts of allergenic constituents. It is not relevant to the allergic whether the source of the culprit food is an ingredient or an allergen that entered the food unintentionally, as is the case with so-called cross-contacts or hidden allergens.Efficient allergen management is the manufacturer's prerequisite for coping with allergenic foods in the food production environment and handling them in a way that avoids cross-contact. If it is technically not feasible to eliminate cross-contacts entirely, it must be ensured that these cross-contacts do not enter the final product without being detected.This article discusses measures that should be considered in allergen management. Examples include recording all relevant allergens in the production facility, staff sensitization and training, and taking into account all areas of production from incoming raw materials to outgoing goods.For the evaluation of unavoidable cross-contacts, it is possible today to draw on data from clinical trials for many of the substances that are subject to labelling. This data can be used to assess the risk of the final product.However, the data from threshold studies is not legally binding, so it is left to the manufacturer to assess the level up to which the food is safe for the allergic. In particular the non-harmonized approach of the EU member countries' food safety authorities currently represents a major obstacle, as this can lead to food recalls even though existing levels were evaluated as being safe according to the risk assessments performed.

Alergias alimentarias: revisión de la legislación correspondiente a la gestión y al etiquetado de alérgenos

“…Los operadores alimentarios están obligados, en base a la implantación de procedimientos basados en el APPCC, a establecer en cada uno de los puntos críticos de control que ellos consideren, medidas de vigilancia tales como analíticas para detectar cualquier en su fallo en su sistema antes de que el peligro llegue al producto final. Cabe señalar que los sistemas de gestión de alérgenos deben adaptarse individualmente a los requerimientos de cada empresa (30,37) . La Figura 2 representa un esquema básico del manejo de los alérgenos en una empresa de fabricación de productos alimentarios envasados.…”

Food allergen control at meat processing enterprise: scientific rationale and preliminary hazard analysis

“…The high level of compliance with claimed allergen information for consumers (checklist question 6.1) ( Table 3) is a result of the mandatory nature of this requirement, as it is prescribed in CU TR 022/2011 on providing food information to consumers, and also due to the ease of identifying allergens in the components of the finished product (declared allergens). In the case of unintentionally introduced allergens, this is more ambiguous, since their presence is the result of cross-contamination [18]. In addition, undeclared allergens in the Russian Federation are subjected to hazard analysis mainly at enterprises that implement a food safety management system in accordance with BRC and IFS standards.…”

“…Such food allergens have been identified as a major food safety hazard and their control is one of the main areas of food safety management systems [15,16,17,18,19]. Regardless of mandatory food law provisions, food allergen surveillance is required by all voluntary standards that set requirements for food safety management systems such as ISO 22000 3 , FSSC 22000 4 , BRC 5 , IFS 6 и SQF 7 .…”

“…Control measures include such issues as identification of food allergens, prevention of cross-contamination with allergens during transportation and storage of raw materials, during production, and also during storage of finished products [17,18,20,21]. Important issues are the separation of food products containing allergens from those that do not contain them, as well as the removal or reduction of allergen residues from food contact surfaces by cleaning and disinfection [22], the prevention of cross-contamination with allergens [16,19].…”