Educate Your Employees on Food Allergen Awareness

It’s Allergy Awareness week, so let’s start with some sobering statistics from the Allergy UK website:

• 1 in 2 people will have an allergy by 2026 
• The number one reported UK health condition in 2022 was allergy 
• There has been a 154% rise in hospital admissions due to anaphylaxis in the last 20 years

Allergies are clearly something we can’t ignore. So why were allergen issues the leading cause of product recalls last year according to the Food Standards Agency?

Often the recall is due to an allergen being omitted on the product label. Sometimes it is down to a production issue. Whatever the cause, it’s essential that all food handlers understand why allergen management is so important. Without sounding dramatic, it can literally be a matter of life and death for some consumers.

“People think I’m being overly fussy when I scrutinise food packaging or ask how food is actually prepared in a restaurant,” says my friend Emma. “But I know that even the smallest trace of peanut could cause an allergic reaction in my daughter. She only needs to touch her lip and that can trigger it.”

Anaphylaxis is not just a risk for nut allergy sufferers

Anaphylaxis is a potentially fatal allergic reaction. Symptoms of anaphylaxis include swelling in the throat, tongue or upper airways, wheezing, breathing difficulties, feeling faint or dizzy, pale clammy skin or loss of consciousness. These may also be accompanied by a raised rash, swelling of the face, lips and eyes and stomach pain or vomiting. If emergency treatment of adrenaline is not given, this can lead to death.

Many people mistakenly think that anaphylactic shock is only experienced by people with a peanut or tree nut allergy, but it can also be caused by other food allergens. For example, milk, eggs, shellfish, fish and sesame seeds – as in the well-publicised case of Natasha Ednan Laperouse which led to Natasha’s Law.

Allergen controls need to be implemented – including product labels

There are 14 main food allergens in the UK:

• cereals containing gluten
• eggs
• milk
• fish
• peanuts
• nuts
• soya
• mustard
• celery
• crustaceans
• molluscs
• sesame
• sulphites
• lupin

The ability to manage allergens throughout the food production process is essential - especially if you are claiming that certain products are free from a particular allergen. Not doing so could result in civil actions and prosecution in the case of serious illnesses and deaths. The negative publicity generated can damage your brand and lead to loss of customer and consumer confidence, which in turn has a domino effect on business and profits. At the very least you will incur the cost of a product recall.

It is therefore crucial that you have certain procedures in place to insure against the risk of cross-contamination from receipt of goods from your supplier through to delivery of your finished products. That includes correctly labelled products. You need to ensure that the ingredients list is accurate, with every instance of an allergen appearing in bold text. If a particular allergen is not in your product’s recipe but is handled on the same line or elsewhere in the factory, you might need to include messaging which makes this clear.

Getting the label right is only half of the equation, however. You also need to be sure that it is applied to the correct product. For instance, if you make two chocolate bars – one regular and one with a praline filling – it’s essential that the two labels are not mixed up, as someone with a nut allergy could buy what they think is a regular chocolate bar and then have a severe allergic reaction.

Specialist food allergen training is a must

There are many factors to consider when working with food allergens. That’s why we offer a comprehensive one-day course called Managing Food Allergens in Manufacturing. Delivered by a food allergens expert and endorsed by FDQ, it’s designed to help you cover all bases as far as allergen control is concerned. It’s also invaluable for those responsible for designing, implementing and auditing allergen management systems. Topics covered include the following:

• The need for responsible food allergen management
• Labelling legislation regarding food allergens
• Standards requirements regarding food allergens
• Allergen risk assessment process
• Controlling allergens in the food process from supplier to delivery
• Cleaning and validation process
• Allergen testing methods
• Verification of the allergen management system

Ensure your food labelling meets legal requirements

For comprehensive, specialist training covering all aspects of food product labelling, our popular Legal Labelling course covers:

• Product title and brand names
• Legal names and customary names
• Marketing sub-descriptors & claims
• Additives
• Allergens
• Nutrition and health claims
• Ingredients declarations and QUIDs
• Origin Marking and Protected names
• Date coding
• EU proposals to introduce new Food Information Regulations – an update on progress and likely changes the Regulation will introduce

Both courses are also available as In-house training - please speak with  Claire Lennon for details.