Throughout Australia, 1 in 10 infants and 2 in 100 adults suffer from a food allergy.
This puts Australia as the country with the highest rate of confirmed food allergies in the world, and studies have shown that the rates of hospital admission due to allergenic reactions has risen globally. Of those who suffer from any kind of food allergy, mild or severe, 1 in 4 will suffer from anaphylaxis at some point in their lives.
Following these statistics, it is clear why food businesses need to be able to effectively manage allergens within their facilities. If someone has a severe allergic reaction due to food your business has prepared, there can be very severe consequences, both legally for the business and for the customer.
The first step towards managing allergens within your food business is understanding what types of allergens there are. In Australia there are 10 allergens that are recognised by FSANZ which include peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, sesame seeds, fish and shellfish, soy, lupin, and wheat.
Some of these ingredients, such as eggs and milk, can be easily identified and replaced with substitutes if necessary. However, sometimes it is much harder to tell whether allergens such as nuts, soy, lupin, and wheat are part of other ingredients. Soy for example, is an ingredient in many other foods and sometimes is referred to by other names, such as soy, soya and soybean. This can make it harder to identify, and therefore easy to miss.
Make sure to always read the nutritional information on your ingredients to ensure that you are aware of any allergens.
More often than not, it is unavoidable for food businesses to completely eliminate the use of allergens and it is more realistic for them to offer allergen-free alternatives to cater to the 2% of people suffering from food allergies. To ensure the safe use of these allergens, every Food Handler within your business must know which ingredients contain allergens. This means that allergens must be clearly labelled so that all staff that handle those ingredients are aware of the precautions that need to be taken.
In February 2021, new allergen labelling requirements were introduced which are now going to be fully enforced come February 2024. It states that all allergens, plus some other ingredients that may cause adverse health effects must be labelled in plain English in the ingredient list using the exact name as defined by the requirement.
Once you know your ingredients and have clearly labelled which ones are allergenic, you need to put a system in place when using these ingredients to prevent cross-contamination. There are many ways to do this. Some businesses make sure to set up separate workstations for allergen usage and put in place a procedure such that any time this station is entered or left, workers must wash hands and change aprons. This avoids risk that the allergen will be carried out of the contained area and possibly contaminate other foods.
Other more general food safety practices must be employed within the business to avoid cross-contamination. Staff must understand the rules surrounding their own food, which may be allergenic. The Food Standards Code necessitates that staff do not eat near food preparation stations, and once they have finished consuming food, they must follow proper handwashing procedures. This prevents any external sources of allergens from entering food prep areas.
It is up to each business to discuss and decide what works for them, as long as it is effective in preventing the cross-contamination of allergens.
Once you have your system in place, it is important that you appoint someone within the business with the responsibility to supervise and enforce the procedure. Sometimes Food Handlers may forget the exact procedure or cut corners in a rush – a Food Safety Supervisor is employed to make sure that this doesn’t occur. Due to the introduction of Standard 3.2.2a on December 8, 2023, Food Safety Supervisors must be employed in any category 1 and 2 food business and have undergone appropriate training before qualification.
As part of this training, it is required that certain units and topics are covered in order to achieve qualification. One element of Food Safety Supervisor training that is part of these requirements is allergens, and the roles required of a Food Safety Supervisor in ensuring safe allergen management practices.
After setting up your management system, it should be almost impossible for the cross-contamination of allergens to occur – but accidents happen! It is essential that businesses develop a procedure to be followed in the case that cross-contamination of allergens does occur. You need to be able to effectively trace your ingredients. You will learn how to develop an appropriate corrective action plan during allergen training that will teach you have to minimise these kinds of occurrences. Some corrective actions include disposing of contaminated food, disinfecting workstations and in some severe cases, recall.
