Allergen Control, Analysis and Global Food Safety Initiative Schemes

Providing safe food to an increasing number of adults and children susceptible to food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities is challenging enough. However, more often it needs to be offered in different social settings with near family and friends. The food industry has embraced both the challenge and the opportunity. Allergen--free-from foods have moved from occupying a few shelves in a retailers store to the main aisles, and from a sub-section of a restaurant menu to the main provision. Today, there’s a broader array of food manufacturers and food service operators from around the globe providing greater choice together with a broader range of consumers seeking more information on healthier choices. Safeguarding the health of those at risk from allergenic ingredients and foods is the industry’s responsibility and minimum legal obligation.  In a new era of globally recognised food safety frameworks and evidence-based regulatory systems; providing reliable evidence to support effective Allergen Management systems can’t be that difficult surely? We have evolved our systems, implemented new technology, empowered our staff through training, reinforced a supportive culture and introduced new testing. Yet, as we work through our risk assessments and validation exercises it is often the simple questions which still prove the most difficult to answer: how much is too much? How clean is clean? Testing should provide the objective evidence that management and auditors need to assess the effectiveness of their Allergen Control plans. Whilst it is apparent that new tests have enabled us to take better control, recent events have revealed that interpreting the data from testing is often problematic.