Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 1

Activities ReportJuly - Dec 2017

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 3

CONTENTS01 MEMBERSHIP P4

VITAL® HAPPENINGS P5-9

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS P10

STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION P11

TECHNICAL & VITAL® SUPPORT P12

FOOD ALLERGEN RELATED RECALL P13-14

WEBSITE - eNEWS & eBRIEF ALERTS P15

MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE P16-17

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VALE JULIE NEWLANDS P1809

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

MEMBERSHIPMembership now consists of over 100 food industry organisations and individuals

01We are pleased to note that total membership is now more than 100 food industry organisations and individuals – our membership having grown from 19 Founding Members in 2005! Pleasingly, 14 of the original 19 Founding Members – all Full Member companies - continue to support the Allergen Bureau in our ongoing aim of informing the food industry about allergen management.

The Allergen Bureau membership to the end of December 2017 was 32 Full Members, 33 Associate Members and 37 Individual Members.

The Allergen Bureau welcomed pladis and Coopers Brewery as new Full Members in September and November 7, respectively.

There were eight new Associate Member companies during this six month period. These were:

The Allergen Bureau relies on the support of its member companies to continue to inform the food industry about allergen management. We ask our member companies that they help to spread the word about the benefits of Allergen Bureau membership. The Allergen Bureau warmly welcome new members – including medium and small enterprises and individuals that can join as Associate Members.

• Almond Board of California • BE Campbell • Continental Bakeries • Davies Chocolates Pty Ltd

• Lion Dairy & Drinks • Madura Tea Estates • Nature’s Dairy Australia • Yummies for Little Tummies

Full Members

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 5

VITAL® Online - allergen regulations and functionality

The Australia and New Zealand legislation in VITAL Online was expanded to include lupin in order to reflect the recent amendment to add lupin to the allergens required to be declared on food labels in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. This addition has been welcomed by VITAL Users.

Functionality has been added to VITAL Online so that recipes created in VITAL Online can be used as ingredients in subsequent recipes. This is useful for recipes which have multiple components – such as a cake plus icing. The icing and/or the cake can be created separately and brought together in a single recipe as ingredients.

There has been a review of the speed of response of VITAL Online and improvements have been made to some pages, such as the tabs for ingredients and processing profiles, which has resulted in faster response times from VITAL Online and overall improvements in speed. Other minor issues have also been addressed in VITAL Online to enhance usability.

Work continues on adding further legislations to VITAL Online, including South Africa and the United States. The South African legislation is now in the VITAL Online staging site and is ready for trial.

VITAL® Online - usage

At 31 Dec 2017, 2090 organisations had registered for a VITAL Online account (an increase of over 400 organisations in this six month period). Over 3,400 individual users (an increase of over 800 Users in this six month period) having accessed VITAL Online through their own username and password.

Since the launch of VITAL Online in August 2015, these organisations have generated 13,220 VITAL Online reports (up from 8,700 reports at the end of June 2017). Over 8,500 ingredients, 800 pro-cessing profiles and almost 7,000 recipes have now been created within VITAL Online!

Of all VITAL Online sessions (non-bounce sessions1 ) in this six month period, 71% were returning visitors and 29% were new visitors - again showing a small increase in the proportion of returning visitors.

VITAL® HAPPENINGSSignificant updates were released on VITAL in the six month period, in line with industry changes.

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1. In a non- ‐bounce session, the person interacted with the entrance page. Bounce sessions occur when the person leaves the website from the entrance page without interacting with the page.

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

In any 28 day period for the six months of Jul – Dec 2017, the number of active users to the VITAL Online website (non-bounce sessions) has ranged from between approximately 340 and 540 active users - up from between 250 and 510 active users in the previous 6 month period.

The top ten visiting countries to the VITAL Online website (non-bounce sessions) were the same as the previous reporting period, with some changes in the percentage of users and sessions from each country meaning the order of usage was not same.

Australia continues to show the greatest usage. There was a slight increase in the proportion of users and sessions from The Netherlands; Belgium; and New Zealand. July - Dec 2017 Previous period (Jan - June 2017)

Users Sessions Users SessionsAustralia 47% + 62% - 44% 66% Netherlands 11% + 7% 10% 7% Belgium 6% + 5% + 5% 3% New Zealand 6% + 7% + 5% 4% France 4% - 3% - 5% 4% United Stated 3% - 3% + 4% 2% Germany 3% 1% - 3% 1% United Kingdom 3% 1% - 3% 2% South Africa 2% 3% + 2% 1% Italy 2% 2% 2% 2%

Within Australasia, the main cities where VITAL Online was used were:

Users Sessions• Sydney 32% 33%• Melbourne 29% 26%• Brisbane 10% 10%• Auckland 7% 7%• Perth 4% 4%

VITAL® HAPPENINGS02

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Australasian VITAL Online users by city, July to December 2017

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 7

VITAL® Training Providers

The Allergen Bureau welcomed Sherlock Food Allergen Risk Management Pty Ltd as a new VITAL Training Provider.

There are currently 19 VITAL Training Providers with face-to-face, virtual and/or online offerings across most geographic regions. See http://allergenbureau.net/vital/vital-training/.

VITAL® HAPPENINGS02

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Training Providers Home Base

Training Provider Name Languages

Region/Country of VITAL Training Delivery

Australia NZ SE Asia North Asia Pacific Africa Europe USA &

CanadaMexico & S.America

Virtual (V)

Online (O)

Australia

BSI Group English

DTS FACTA English (V) Only (V) Only (V) Only

HACCP Mentor English (V) Only (V) Only (V) Only (V) Only

Integrity Compliance Solutions English SE Asia.

India

China, Japan, Korea

(V) Only (V) Only

New

Zealand

SIS Training & Consulting Ltd English

Africa FACTS

Europe

Allergenen Consultancy Dutch, English NL, BE,

(Other countries (V) on request)

Eurofins Analytics France

French (English, German)

All French speaking countries. UK and NL, DEU on request.

FIS Europe German, English DEU, AUT, NL, CH, BE, UK

ifp - Institut für Produktqualität German, English DEU, AUT, CH (in German).

Other EU countries in English

KTBA FoodCampus Dutch, English NL, BE

North

Am

erica

Sabal Food Safety Consulting English, Spanish

VITAL® Training Providers Region/Countries of Delivery

Training delivered in this region/country Virtual (V) Live interactive web-conference with trainer and other class participants Online (O) Recorded non-interactive modules/webinar with online trainer assessment

Download our VITAL Training Providers guide at http://allergenbureau.net/vital/vital-training/.

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

VITAL® Working Groups

Allergen Bureau Working Groups are resourced and led by Allergen Bureau member company volunteers and an Allergen Bureau Director provides support to each Working Group.

VITAL Phase 1 - Risk Review

Food Allergen Risk Review is the thorough investigation of the allergen status of a food product by a food company. The review process identifies the presence of allergens that are intentionally added, as well as identifies the risk and quantifies the allergens unintentionally present (cross contact allergens).

Working Group 1 are developing a totally new approach to food allergen risk review guidance. After identifying & collating a list of 150 allergen risks that can occur throughout the food production process, the Group are creating an interactive webpage, which will be accessible from the Allergen Bureau website. The webpage will provide guidance for conducting an allergen risk review in a format that is easy to navigate and is designed to meet the needs of a broad food industry audience.

The Working Group’s next step is to prepare the text for the webpage.

VITAL Phase 3 – Certification

External verification of specific products showing VITAL process is in control

Bill McBride, Foodlink Management Services, was engaged by the Allergen Bureau to work with this Working Group to develop a draft VITAL Scheme – comprising of i) the auditable VITAL Standard; and ii) the rules and processes to be followed by accredited certification bodies based on the requirements of ISO 17065.

The Working Group met in early January to review the first version of the draft Scheme. A subsequent draft was reviewed at a Working Group meeting in May. The Working Group then continued to work out-of-session to finalise the draft Scheme. The final draft Scheme was scheduled for delivery to Allergen Bureau in July 2017.

VITAL HAPPENINGS02..cont

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 9

It is anticipated that the next steps in this process will be to:• Develop a business case;• Trial the draft VITAL Scheme with industry and Certification Bodies;• Finalise the VITAL Scheme based on feedback from the industry trial; and • Apply to JAS-ANZ for accreditation of the VITAL Scheme.

Risk Review Anomalies

The Allergen Bureau and the Ai-Confectionary Sector Technical Committee have initiated a working group to investigate anomalies where allergens are known to be present.

This group is investigating anomalies where allergens are known to be present but are:• not formulated as an ingredient (as per ANZFSC definition); and• inappropriate to label as per VITAL ‘May be present: XXX’.

A letter outlining industry views on how should this type of allergen cross contact be declared to protect consumer safety was tabled with the NSW Food Authority in August 2017.

VITAL HAPPENINGS02..cont

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

Romer Labs food allergen seminars, Auckland and Sydney

The Allergen Bureau was pleased contribute to two half-day food allergen seminars being supported by Romer Labs in Auckland, NZ on Wednesday 27 September 2017 and Sydney, Australia on Tuesday 3 October 2017. Allergen Bureau members were able to register for free to both seminars.

The Allergen Bureau presentation on ‘Allergy, Allergens & Allergen Management for the Food Industry’ was delivered by Georgina Christensen, VITAL Coordinator (Auckland seminar) and Kirsten Grinter, Allergen Bureau President (Sydney seminar).

The Allergen Bureau wish to thank Romer Labs for the opportunity to present at these food allergen seminars. This collaboration helps to assist the Allergen Bureau to further our mission for a globally accepted, consistent, science-based approach to food allergen risk assessment, management and communication that: i) guides industry best practice; and ii) assists allergen sensitive consumers to make informed choices based on label information.

View Georgina and Kirsten’s presentation here.

VITAL® Scientific Expert Panel

The VITAL Scientific Expert Panel (VSEP) consists of international scientists specialising in allergen management, food allergy and risk assessment. The VSEP is a collaboration between the Allergen Bureau, Food Allergy Research & Resource Program (FARRP) of the University of Nebraska & the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO). Collaboration between the Allergen Bureau and members of the VSEP is regular and ongoing.

Ad hoc liaison via email between the Allergen Bureau and VSEP was ongoing.

Read more about VITAL Science and the VSEP.

INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS03

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 11

FSANZ Allergen Collaboration

Communication of Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) and Action Level concept to allergic consumers was progressed as an important issue for the Allergen Collaboration to address. The project aims to raise awareness and inform healthcare professionals and food allergic consumers of the value of consistent risk-based allergen labelling including PAL which uses scientifically validated ‘Action Levels’ – such as in the VITAL Program. The group managing this communication piece agreed to use the anomalies in chocolate issue as a case study to refine effective communication methods before applying these more broadly to the PAL and Action Level concept.

Visit the Food allergen portal

AFGC Allergen Forum

The review of the AFGC Food Industry Guide to Allergen Management and Labelling remains a key focus of the AFGC work on food allergens.

The information on the Allergen Forum on the AFGC website was updated.

Visit AFGC Allergen Forum and AFGC Labelling

STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATION04

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

Technical support and information was provided to both Allergen Bureau members and non-members. The Allergen Bureau received 53 enquiries - of which 39 were VITAL related and 14 were about general allergen management.

There were several questions related to the presence of lupin due to agricultural co-mingling. Also in this period, there were several questions about gluten free labelling, sulphites and the interpretation of laboratory allergen analysis.

General allergen management enquiries are predominantly about what foods are allergens and labelling requirements under both the ANZ Food Standards Code and various international requirements.

Allergen Bureau Member enquiries are acknowledged within 2 working days and considered responses given within 5 working days – though we are usually much quicker than that, with considered responses often provided to Members on the same or next day!

Non-members are only able to access the Allergen Bureau phone and email information service as a priority for one enquiry. Subsequent enquiries and requests for assistance by non-members are considered on a case-by-case basis, as time and resources allow.

TECHNICAL & VITAL® SUPPORT 05

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 13

06The following food allergen related recall summary - based on AFGC recall data - has been prepared by the Allergen Bureau to inform its members.

July - September 2017

There were five allergen related food recalls during this period (42% of all recalls for the quarter) all of which were recalls due to undeclared allergens. Four allergen groups were represented in the recalls. Three products were Australian made and two were imported.

• Food recalls during quarter 12• Allergen related recalls 5 (42% of recalls)

Offending allergens: peanut (3); fish (2); wheat/gluten containing cereals (2); shellfish (1)

PeanutThree recalls involved peanut. One brand of Australian made chocolate was recalled due to incorrect labels being applied to each product, resulting in the presence of undeclared peanut and wheat. The products were available for sale at The Cruelty Free Stores in NSW and VIC. One bean paste product from Korea was recalled due to the presence of undeclared peanut. There were multiple importers and the product was distributed through Asian grocers. The third product recalled was Hot Pot sauce from China and contained undeclared peanut, fish and shellfish. This product was distributed through Asian grocers in NSW.

Fish & ShellfishTwo recalls involved undeclared fish and one of these also involved undeclared shellfish. One line of Australian (Tasmanian) made paté was recalled due to the presence of undeclared fish. The product was distributed through IGA, Ritchies, Food Works and independent stores in NSW, VIC and WA. The second recall contained undeclared peanut, fish and shellfish (see peanut above).

Wheat/GlutenOne brand of Australian made chocolate was recalled due to undeclared wheat and peanut (see peanut above). The second recall was due to the presence of unlabelled gluten in Australian made Sea Salted Caramel Coconut Milk Ice Cream Alternative. This product was distributed through independent retailers in NSW, QLD, VIC, SA, and WA.

FOOD ALLERGEN RELATED RECALLS

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

06October - December 2017

There were four allergen related food recalls during this period (38% of all recalls for the quarter) all of which were recalls due to undeclared allergens. Four allergen groups were represented in the recalls. All recalled products were Australian made.

• Food recalls during quarter 11• Allergen related recalls 4 (38% of recalls)

Offending allergens: dairy (2); peanut (1) soy (1); fish (1)

DairyTwo recalls involved undeclared dairy. One recall involved a premium chocolate bar product, available at independent retailers in NSW, QLD and online. The second recall involved a dairy-free breakfast drink based on coconut milk, oats and soy, available at Coles and Woolworths nationally.

PeanutOne recall involved undeclared peanut. The recalled product was a brand of Sweet Cookies available for sale at Freshplus Supermarket, Roxburgh Park and Dallas, VIC only.

Fish and SoyOne recall involved undeclared fish and soy. The product was an Australian made Thai green curry soup distributed under Coles own label.

FOOD ALLERGEN RELATED RECALLS

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Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 15

07Six, monthly editions of the Allergen Bureau eNews were circulated to our member’s mailing list (263 recipients). Allergen Bureau Members receive our eNews as a priority service. Non-members – including eNews or VITAL subscribers (7,399) - receive the eNews 2 weeks after the priority distribution to members.

• Total number on mailing list 7,662 (+ from 7,407 in previous six months)

Some Allergen Bureau website statistics (non-bounce sessions2 ) from July - Dec 2017: • Sessions 8,468 ( - from 9,749 in previous six months)• Unique visitors 6,198 ( - from 7,086 in previous six months)• New visitors v return visitors 59% v 41% ( 60% v 40% in previous six months)• Page views 31,764 ( - from 36,545 in previous six months)• Average pages views per session 3.75 ( same as in previous six months)• Average time on site 5:50 mins (+ from 5:41 mins in previous six months)

The most viewed webpages were: • The VITAL Program 16% of pageviews (same as 16% in previous six months)• Home page 11% of pageviews ( - from 12% in previous six months)• VITAL Online 8% of pageviews (same as 8% in previous six months)• What are Food Allergens? 5% of pageviews (same as 5% in previous six months)• Food Allergen FAQs 4% of pageviews (same as 4% in previous six months) • Food Allergen Fundamentals 4% of pageviews (same as 4% in previous six months)• VITAL Science 3% of pageviews (+ from 2% in previous six months)• VITAL Training 3% of pageviews (same as 3% in previous six months

The top ten visiting countries for non-bounce sessions to the Allergen Bureau website were:• Australia 3,718 (44%) [- 4,452 (46%) in previous six months]• United States 684 (8%) [- 705 (7%) in previous six months]• New Zealand 646 (8%) [+ 542 (6%) in previous six months]• United Kingdom 386 (5%) [- 511 (6%) in previous six months]• Germany 310 (4%) [- 340 (3%) in previous six months]• Netherlands 255 (3%) [- 311 (3%) in previous six months]• France 203 (2%) [- 257 (3%) in previous six months]• India 175 (2%) [+ 144 (1%) in previous six months]• Belgium 140 (2%) [+ 166 (2%) in previous six months]• Spain 138 (2%) [- 163 (2%) in previous six months]

ALLERGEN BUREAU WEBSITE eNEWS & eALERTS

2. In a non- ‐bounce session, the person interacted with the entrance page. Bounce sessions occur when the person leaves the website from the entrance page without interacting with the page.

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

The Allergen Bureau Board to the 5th AGM, 26 October 2017 was:

• Kirsten Grinter, Allergen Bureau President (Nestlé Australia Ltd)• Robin Sherlock, Allergen Bureau Vice President and Honorary Treasurer (DTS - Food

Assurance)• Julie Newlands, (Unilever Australia Limited) • Karen Robinson, Honorary Secretary and Company Secretary (Invited Director)• David Henning (Invited Director)

Robin Sherlock (DTS Food Assurance) and Julie Newlands (Unilever Australia), respectively, retired as Directors prior to and following the 5th AGM

Pursuant to Articles 21, 27 and 28 of the Constitution of The Allergen Bureau Ltd, following an invitation for candidates for election as a Director of The Allergen Bureau only one nomination was received for each of three vacant Director positions.

Caroline Gray (Danisco-DuPont) and Debbie Hawkes (Hawkins Watts) were elected unopposed to the Allergen Bureau Board at our 5th Annual General Meeting on Thursday 26 October 2017 in Sydney. Kirsten Grinter (Nestlé Australia) was also re-elected unopposed.

Karen Robinson and David Henning were invited, and accepted, to return to the Board as Invited Directors.

GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT08

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 17

These Directors provide voluntary, unpaid services to The Allergen Bureau and we gratefully acknowledge the generous support they receive from their employer companies in this capacity.

The Allergen Bureau Board thanks all Allergen Bureau members for their continuing support for this important food industry initiative.

The Allergen Bureau Board continues to focus Allergen Bureau efforts on those issues that are of greatest importance to member companies and look forward to working in partnership with our members to continue to drive industry initiatives and projects.

The Allergen Bureau Board from 26 October 2017 was:• Kirsten Grinter, Allergen Bureau President (Nestlé Australia Ltd)• Caroline Gray, Allergen Bureau Vice-President (DuPont Nutrition and Health) • Debbie Hawkes, Honorary Treasurer (Hawkins Watts) • Karen Robinson, Honorary Secretary and Company Secretary (Invited Director)• David Henning (Invited Director)

GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT08

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017

09 VALE JULIE NEWLANDS

The Members and colleagues of the Allergen Bureau were deeply saddened by the passing of our wonderful friend Julie in November 2017.

Julie was instrumental in the incorporation of the Allergen Bureau as an industry not-for-profit organisation, being an inaugural Director and the first Honorary Treasurer of the Allergen Bureau Ltd.

Julie was a fabulous food allergen advocate and immersed herself in all the allergen science as well as communication. Julie really believed that robust evidence-based science was how she could help support the food allergic community and, at the same time, help develop the reputation of the food industry at a global level.

Everything that Julie achieved at the Allergen Bureau is a testament to her drive and passion for the allergic consumer and for food safety. We miss her dearly.

Donations to the Bill Walsh Translational Cancer Research Laboratory can be made online at http://www.bwcancerresearchlab.org.au/donations/.

Allergen Bureau Activities Report July - Dec 2017 P. 19

VALE JULIE NEWLANDS

www.allergenbureau.net