UK industry body the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has introduced a new set of guidelines to aid manufacturers in mitigating allergen-related incidents and product recalls.
The guidance, dubbed Allergen Recall Prevention, has been developed with inputs from FDF members and the government’s Food Standards Agency (FSA).
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The guidance outlines various considerations for food manufacturers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the food sector.
Essential practices for food manufacturers for the prevention, management and investigation of food allergy incidents are provided in the new guidance.
In its announcement of the initiative, the FDF noted that accurate allergen labelling on food packaging is crucial, as incorrect or missing information can pose severe health risks to more than two million consumers with food hypersensitivity in the UK.
Furthermore, recalls due to allergen mislabelling can have a substantial economic impact, particularly on smaller businesses, the organisation added.
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By GlobalDataFDF regulatory manager Olayemi Fashesin-Souza said: “The British food and drink industry has some of the highest safety standards in the world. With robust allergen management practices and comprehensive labelling, consumers with food allergies can choose from a wide variety of products that are safe for them to eat.
“Sometimes, however, food products need to be recalled to ensure consumer safety. Our latest guidance offers manufacturers a proactive approach to minimise allergen-related recalls. By implementing this guidance, companies, in particularly smaller businesses, can improve the strength of their food safety procedures, and stop any potential issues before they arise.”
Its document also details procedures to counteract the four primary causes of allergen incidents: incorrect allergen declaration, discrepancies in product and packaging, erroneous ‘free-from’ allergen claims, and failure to declare possible allergen presence.
The FDF also warned about products being labelled as ‘free-from’ an allergen which could contain the allergen as a contaminant or ingredient.
