Food manufacturers offered advice on allergen management

In a new report − Guidance on Food Allergen Management for Food Manufacturers​ – FDE set out five principles of allergen risk management, covering pre-packed foods that cause allergy or intolerances.

Those are:

• Policy and guidance – operate within good manufacturing practice to manage potential allergenic risks
• Supply management – conduct a supplier management review related to allergen risk and check allergen status of all raw materials
• Manufacturing – identify allergenic raw materials and separate as appropriate. Avoid cross contact between raw materials
• People – identify allergen management training needs of all personnel
• Communication – ensure recipes, manufacturing, packaging and consumer information are produced with regard to allergen risks.

Legal requirements​

The FDE said the guidance would go a long way to helping food companies to develop a consistent understanding of the risks from allergenic food across the industry. It also hoped the report would help food firms to “establish a food safety management system that is compliant with legal requirements”.​

Allergen management in food businesses should be regarded as an integral part of existing food safety management rather than as a completely new system, it said.

FDE president Jesús Serafín Pérez, said: “The Food Drink Europe Guidance ensures a consistent understanding of, and approach to, managing allergens and certain food causing intolerances to a high standard throughout the European food industry. This will help minimise the risk to allergic consumers and enable consumers to make informed product choices.”​

Food Standards Agency​

Both the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the FDE’s British counterpart, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) welcomed the new report.

A spokesman for the FSA told FoodManufacture.co.uk: “The agency welcomes the development of this European guidance document which will help food businesses to better understand allergen management and how to monitor and control possible allergen cross contamination.”​

The FDE approach builds upon the previous FSA guidance, he added.

The FDF described the report as a “useful” ​document that builds on current allergen control and risk management guidance.  Barbara Gallani, FDF director of food safety, science and health, said: “The document provides very practical information to assist businesses in the development and improvement of their allergen management systems through all steps of food manufacturing.”​

Read the full report here​.