The Rise Of Allergen Incidents: Key Measures For Food Safety Compliance
Tropical Sun semolina. Co-op picnic platters. M&S mushroom pies. Viennetta ice cream. Origin Kitchen spreads. What do these seemingly unrelated products have in common? They were all recently recalled in the UK due to undeclared allergens.
And that’s just a selection of cases from the last few months.
From undeclared ingredients to cross-contamination in manufacturing, the consequences of undeclared allergens can range from mild discomfort to severe allergic reactions and even fatalities. Beyond health, risks are financial, reputational and legal.
So, what’s going wrong, and what should you do to protect your business?
Why Are Allergen Incidents On The Rise?
Allergen incidents are becoming more common, even for global food manufacturers. Here are the top three reasons allergen incidents are on the rise.
Complex Supply Chains
Global sourcing, where goods and services are sought internationally to save money, means there is a higher incident rate of mislabeling and cross-contamination. Several factors are at play here, including varying manufacturing practices, different rules and regulations across countries and testing practices that aren’t up to scratch.
Number Of Ingredients
Food products are increasing in complexity. With more ingredients comes more potential for hidden allergens.
Increased Awareness & Diagnosis
More people than ever are aware of allergens and reaction symptoms. More people also have a good understanding of their existing allergies, leading to more incident reports.
The Impact Of Allergen Recalls
Product recalls, where a potentially harmful product is retrieved from the market, can negatively impact businesses. Here’s how.
Financial Fallout
Recalling a product from the market costs businesses money. Not only must they bin the defective goods, but they must also lose out on the predicted sales and may also suffer potential lawsuits.
Reputation Risk
When a business recalls a product, customers may lose faith in that business to sell safe foods. This can be difficult to repair.
More Than Money
It’s not just about money-making businesses. There is a human cost to allergen incidents. Allergic reactions can be severe and even life-threatening for some, leaving lasting damage for others.
Compliance is Key
Regulations and laws have been brought in to protect consumers and compliance with them is critical for all businesses involved in food production, manufacturing, catering or selling.
Natasha’s Law
Up until October 1st, 2021, allergen information for PPDS foods – foods prepackaged for direct sale – could be given verbally by staff, putting allergy sufferers at risk of accidental ingestion.
Enter Natasha’s Law.
Officially known as the UK Food Information Amendment (2021), it’s a law designed to protect people with food allergies. The law is named after a teenager who died from an allergic reaction to a product containing sesame seeds that wasn’t clearly labelled.
All food businesses must now provide full ingredient lists and allergen labelling on PPDS foods. This includes foods that have been made in-house, like sandwiches or salads made earlier in the day.
The 14 Allergens
The following 14 allergens must be declared on PPDS foods, and businesses must also provide information about these allergens in non-prepackaged foods that they sell.
The 14 allergens are;
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, barley and oats)
- Crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters)
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs (such as mussels and oysters)
- Mustard
- Peanuts
- Sesame
- Soybeans
- Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if the sulphur dioxide and sulphites are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million)
- Tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).
Compliance with food allergen laws isn’t just about avoiding penalties. It’s about ethical responsibility and helping customers and consumers make safe, informed food choices.
Preventing Allergen Incidents: Proactive Steps
Does your business deal with food goods? Here are some measures you can take to safeguard your customers and avoid costly recalls.
Reputable Suppliers
Vet your suppliers meticulously! Be rigorous with checks on ingredient sources and ensure communication is crystal clear.
Clear Labelling
Gain customer trust by going above and beyond when it comes to labelling your foods. Make allergen information easy to find and understand on menus and products; it’s not just about legal requirements but about customer experience, too.
HACCP Plan For Allergens
Do you have a HACCP plan for allergen management? It’s an essential part of ensuring food safety for your customers. By identifying risks and implementing controls to reduce them, you can ensure you provide safe products to your customers.
Processes and protocols should be regularly revisited, reviewed and updated to ensure you remain compliant and keep your customers free from harm.
Staff Training
It’s not just the kitchen staff that must be aware of allergens and cross-contamination. Every staff member should have a sound understanding of how to reduce risks.
Did you know that Envesca offers flexible training to protect your staff and customers by empowering your whole team with knowledge?
Train With Envesca
Envesca offers two allergen awareness courses that can help your staff keep your customers and business safe.
Highfield Level 2 Award In Food Allergen Awareness And Control In Catering
This half-day course covers everything you need to know about foods that may trigger an allergic reaction.
Candidates will come away with a sound understanding of their legal responsibilities, hidden allergens, labelling requirements and how to minimise the risk of cross-contamination.
Suitable for anyone who handles food, the course can be taken by individuals in any sector who need to know about allergens. It can be taken online for the utmost convenience or in person with an in-house course so that a whole team or larger group can be trained at once.
Highfield Level 3 Award in Food Allergen Management in Catering
Are you a manager or a supervisor? This level 3 course might be for you.
Alongside knowledge about allergens, reactions and how to mitigate the risk of cross-contamination, the level 3 course focuses on the importance of accurate communication of ingredient information from supplier to consumer. Candidates will come away understanding how to control food allergens at all stages of food purchase and production, ensuring that allergen information is communicated to customers clearly.
Food Safety Non-Compliance Puts You At Risk
Allergen incidents are on the rise, but they are preventable with the right knowledge and systems in place.
Not sure where to start with a HACCP plan for allergen management? Interested to learn more about our training packages? Get in touch with Envesca today to find out how we can help.
The Ultimate Guide to Passing the Level 4 Food Safety Examination
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