Defence against allergens
Peter Littleton, Technical Director at Christeyns Food Hygiene, talks about allergen management in the food, dairy, beverage and brewing industries, and why it’s so important.
Allergen management through cleaning in the food, dairy, beverage and brewing industries is an essential control in order to reduce the risks to vulnerable consumers through the unintended cross-contact of allergenic proteins into other products.
What is an allergen? An allergen is a substance that can cause an allergic reaction. In some people, the immune system recognises allergens as foreign or dangerous. As a result, the immune system reacts by making a type of antibody called IgE to defend against the allergen. This reaction leads to allergy symptoms and can in some cases be deadly. Common allergens relevant to food and beverage include egg, peanut, milk, nuts, soy, wheat, animal meat, and fish.
To ensure against cross-contamination, operatives undertaking cleaning activities following production of an allergen-containing product must be aware of the vital role they play in preventing the cross-contact of allergenic proteins into subsequent batches or items.
There are three main steps in tackling allergens. Christeyns Food Hygiene refers to these as the Allergen Defence Service:
58 | FOOD SAFETY AND STEAM CLEANING
1. Design of procedures – processes to follow that fit your business
2. Control – implementing adequate cleaning procedures to prevent risk
3. Verification – validating the results of the cleaning and its effectiveness
The Allergen Defence Service should provide the necessary tools for the rapid and effective detection of allergens that may cause allergy problems for consumers, identifying the causes of food contamination by allergens and implementing preventative measures to minimise future risks.
The key message is that this type of contamination is unlikely to be homologous as the early part of the run would contain potentially higher levels of extraneous protein simply because it would ‘harvest’ the debris on passing. It is for this reason that cleaning plays a vital role in allergen management.
The type of surface being cleaned will determine the type of clean required: the ‘cleanability’ of a surface, combined with the material the surface is made from, determines the chemicals that can be used to successfully eliminate risk.
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