food allergen management

(Food) AllergenManagement

by Alois Fellinger

FoodSAFE’14

May 7,2014

Allergens

It is said that if you know your enemies

and know yourself, you will not be

imperiled in a hundred battles.(知彼知己，百戰不殆；不知彼而知己，一勝一負；)

Sun Tzu (孫子, c. 6th century BCE), Chinese general, author of The Art of War

Allergy to bovine milk is

most common in children

Main Allergen(s):

β-Lactoglobulin (Bos d 5),

α-Lactalbumin (Bos d 4),

Casein Fraction (Bos d 8)

Caseins from cows, sheep and goats

have 87-98% identical sequences

Milk

Main Allergen(s):

Ovomucoid (Gal d 1),

Ovalbumin (Gal d 2),

Ovotransferrin (Gal d 3),

Lysozyme (Gal d 4)

Cross reactivity between different

bird eggs is published

Allergy to chicken meat

(as well as to turkey) is very rare

Eggs

Allergens are Parvalbumins, calcium-

binding proteins found in the white muscle

meat of many fish species (~5mg/g meat),

they are heat stable and enzyme resistant

proteins

Main Allergen(s):

Codfish (Allergen M, Gad c 1),

Salmon (Sal s 1), Carp (Cyp c 1),

Tuna

>95% crossreactivity with

other fish in allergic persons

Fish

Allergen is mostly Tropomyosin, a

protein responsible for muscle

contractions

Main Allergen(s)Shrimp (Pen a 1),

Craps (Cha f 1), Crawfish (Pan s 1),

Lobster (Hom a 1), Oyster (Cra g 1,

Cra g 2), Squid (Tod p 14)

High probability of cross reactivity

between different seafoods

Crustaceae

One of the most common food allergies

in children and adults.

Major Allergen(s)

Hazelnut (Cor a 1), Cashew nut (Ana o

1), Walnut (Jug r 1), Brazil nut (Ber e 1)

High probability of allergy to other nuts.

Tree nuts should not to be confused with

peanut, which is a legume, or seeds, such

as sunflower or sesame.

© 2013, A. Fellinger Food Allergy & Allergens 9

Nuts

Peanuts are the leading cause of severe

food allergic reactions with more severe

symptoms than other food allergies. As

many as one-third of peanut-sensitive

patients have severe reactions, such as

fatal and near-fatal anaphylaxis.

Major Allergen(s):

Peanut (Ara h 1, Ara h 2)

© 2013, A. Fellinger Food Allergy & Allergens 10

Peanuts

© 2013, A. Fellinger Food Allergy & Allergens 11

Wheat allergy is most common in

children, and is usually outgrown

before reaching adulthood

A wheat allergy should not be

confused with “gluten intolerance”

or celiac disease, which affects the

small. Individuals with celiac disease

must avoid gluten, found in wheat,

rye, barley and sometimes oats

Cerealscontaining gluten

Soybean allergy is one of the more common

food allergies, especially among babies and

children, but it is often outgrown. Allergic

reactions to soy are typically mild.

Major Allergen(s):

Soya (Gly m 4, Gly m 5, Gly m 6)

Soybeans are widely used in

processed food products. As it is

used in so many products,

eliminating all those foods can result

in an unbalanced diet.

© 2013, A. Fellinger Food Allergy & Allergens 12

Soy

Celery

Lupine

Molluscs

Mustard

Sesame

SO2

How to deal with

Allergens?

Source of Allergens

Recipe

Label it!

What about

hidden

Allergens?

Anything

out

there?… and if so,

where is it

coming from?

Could it be

harmful?

Can it be

avoided?

Product

Ingredients

product

contamination

contamination

during transport

Process

Cleaning

Storage

Handling

Design

improper

procedure

tools

equipment

handling of

reworks

process

design

„crossing“

production lines

shared storage

with allergens

open storage of

packing material

selection of

ingredients

production

schedule

environmental

influence

*depending on your product & process

Product Development and Design

• Consumer group?

• Specific needs? e.g. gluten free

• Naturally free or specifically processed

• Selection of ingredients – cross contamination

• Production process – shared equipment?

• Correct labelling

Critical Control Points

• Incoming goods

• Ingredient Storage - Warehouse

• Cleaning

• Manufacturing equipment

• In-process cross contamination

• Rework

• Packaging/labelling - finished product

• Storage

Incoming goods and Warehouse

• Audit supplier and supply chain

• Confirm supplier specifications &

certificates

• Assure correct storage and ingredient

separation

• Have complete raw material and product

specifications

Processing and Packaging

• Plan and schedule production

• Try to use dedicated production lines

• Proper cleaning and sanitation of production equipment

• Appropriate design of facilities, equipment and tools

• Accurate labeling of equipment, tools, intermediates, etc.

• Procedures for using rework (internal returns)

• Clean tools

• Detect cross contamination

Finished Product and Warehouse

• Verify correct labelling

• Correct packaging

• Correct product separation

• Auditing and enforcement

The VITAL (Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labelling)

system is an essential standardized allergen risk assessment tool

for food producers

VITAL allows a single simple standardized precautionary statement, to assist food producers in presenting allergen advice consistently for allergic consumers.

VITAL 2.0

Good management with poor equipment will bring to a better result than any good equipment with poor management.

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