Management of Food Allergens in the Food Industry

Abstract

Ensuring food safety for people suffering fromvarious intolerances faces serious threats posed by allergenswhich have become a challenge for food manufacturers andmass caterers. These businesses are required to developand implement appropriate programs to manage allergenspresent in their sites. The purpose of this paper was to analyzethe actions taken by food manufacturers with respect tosubstances and products causing allergies or food intolerancesin the context of providing consumers with a safe, properlylabeled product. To achieve the objective of this study, a dataanalysis and synthesis method was employed based on requirementsdefined in obligatory and non-obligatory standardsfor food safety assurance and management in the foodproduction sector. In summary, as regards allergen management,the companies must create appropriate conditions andtake adequate measures (including the analysis of risks due tointentional and adventitious presence of allergens in food, andthe implementation of appropriate preventive actions). Solutionsprovided in the mandatory standards, mainly GHP andHACCP, as well as in non-mandatory standards, such as ISO22000, BRC, IFS and SQF, may be helpful in the managementof substances causing allergies or intolerances.

Food allergens: threshold levels and methodologies for risk management

“…Также ED 10 были оценены для молока, яйца, арахиса, фундука, сельдерея, рыбы и креветок с использованием данных о пероральном заражении из проекта EuroPrevall с применением стандартизированных низких доз DBPCFC, специально разработанных для оценки индивидуальных пороговых значений [21]. Распределение кумулятивной дозы индивидуальных пороговых значений с учетом либо LOAEL, либо метода ICSA было рассчитано при помощи модели логарифмически нормального распределения, модели логарифмически-логистического распределения, модели распределения Вейбулла.…”

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

“…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 .…”

“…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 . However, the scope of control measures applied to the control of food allergens arising from the requirements of these standards is much wider than just food labeling required by food regulations [17,20].…”

“…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].…”

“…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]. Cross-contact may be prevented by appropriate production planning: first, products that do not contain allergens or contain allergens that are present in all products are manufactured, and only then products containing specific allergens that are present only in some products are manufactured [17].…”