Allergen Handling Spells Safety

Allergen management is one of the big safety concerns in bakery manufacturing, even more so with the rise in popularity of products free of certain ingredients that are known allergy triggers. Hygiene and clear labeling are holding some of the answers, but the complete picture is painted in each production facility.

Food contamination over the past years showcased the dangers of bacteria like salmonella, listeria, or E.coli reach plates and immune systems. Food allergies are a newer enemy in comparison, and their prevalence skyrockets, as research into the field delves more in-depth.

Labeling has recently come into the spotlight with “Natasha’s Law” coming into effect in the UK on October 1, 2021. This is just one of the recent allergy fatalities and it is particularly important to track because it showed the urgent need and was the catalyst for changing allergen information labeling – in Pret a Manger’s case, the failure to label sesame seeds. “The introduction of Natasha’s Law brings greater transparency about what people are buying and eating, lays down new standards for the food companies, and highlights the battle against the growing epidemic of allergies,” Zac Goldsmith, food minister, was commenting on the regulation. It’s an essential law to safeguard consumers by requiring foods that are prepared and packaged on the site in which they are sold to label products with the full list of ingredients and allergens.

The new law will include packaged sandwiches or salads assembled by staff earlier in the day and placed on a shelf for purchase. Natasha’s Law will apply to any food business operator, regardless of its size, meaning that both national sandwich chains and small businesses alike will have the same requirements to display the full ingredients on their packaging. Large food chains would likely use electronic labeling systems; this could be problematic for small businesses, however, that will have to put in place a labeling system. To ensure the labeling is correct, staff must also undergo proper training, so they can verify packaging includes all necessary information. Mintel research has found that almost half (48%) of Brits are unsure whether or not allergen labels are clear, and a further 15% have no confidence in them at all.

Keeping Food Contamination-free

There are about 200 foods for which allergic reactions have been recorded, with complex symptomology. “For the food allergic individual, consumption of sub-milligram to milligram quantities of the food can result in adverse reactions which at best are debilitating and at worst can lead to hospitalization (e.g. anaphylaxis) and, in some cases, death,” Anton Alldrick, special projects manager, Campden BRI, told us.

Some time ago, Campden BRI staff proposed the acronym PIPE (People, Ingredients, Processes, Enforcement) to describe a basic approach to food allergen management within a food business that provides satisfactory answers these questions. In summary, PIPE refers to:

People – this addresses such factors as training, protective clothing, staff allocation, staff meals, and workers from external bodies such as agency (temporary) workers and contractors brought on to a site for a specific purpose (e.g. maintenance engineers);

Ingredients – a generic term to include all components of the finished product including packaging and rework. Topics included under this heading consist of understanding the hazards associated with a particular ingredient, supplier quality assurance as well as how the ingredient is stored and handled within the factory;

Process – this term addresses all aspects related to the actual manufacture of the product within a food business. This includes factory and equipment design, production segregation (and, where not possible, production scheduling), hygiene and maintenance;

Enforcement – within this context, enforcement refers to all steps to not only ensure compliance but also verify on a continuing basis that the food-allergen management systems in place remain fit for purpose. The PIPE approach recognizes that successful food-allergen management is heavily dependent on well managed operational pre-requisite programs and that it is necessary to take a holistic approach to the entire food manufacturing process. For the food manufacturer, successful food allergen management, therefore, begins with new product development and ends with its delivery to the consumer.

You can read the rest of this article in the Autumn Issue of Asia Pacific Baker & Biscuit magazine, which you can access by clicking here.