Goals for Environmental Control of Food Allergens
Primary Goal: Finding allergens in the food-processing environment before they cross contact products
Secondary Goal: Assess the effectiveness of current cleaning, sanitation, and employee hygiene practices
Achieving Food Allergen Control
A well designed Allergen Environmental Monitoring Program will include samples from various areas throughout your production process. It is important to consider equipment that is used for both allergen-free products and allergen-containing products. Consideration of employee traffic patterns and behaviors also is important to identify areas that are easily contaminated. Equipment that can carry dust, such as vacuum cleaners, brooms, and compressed air are also potential sources for food allergens in the processing environment.
The simplest way to organize your sampling program is to map the processing environment and identify multiple sampling sites based on your specific facility design and processes. The number of samples to collect will depend on line complexity. If the final number of sampling sites is substantial, you can rotate sites at each sampling interval to increase coverage. For example, if you have identified 60 potential sampling sites, you can randomly select 10 to 15 sites each week, making sure that each site is sampled at least once per month. This system will help you stretch your testing budget while making sure you sample all sites needed to maintain program effectiveness. Keep a detailed sampling site log and facility map that details locations of sampling sites. The log should contain written detail on how to collect samples from difficult to access areas such as within processing equipment.
When considering sites to sample, those sites that are direct product contact surfaces – those surfaces where product is exposed to the environment before final package closure – are considered most important. Suggested sampling locations include tables, conveyor belts, buckets, fillers, hoppers, utensils, employee hands, and gloves. It is important to note that all product produced on the line tested should be held until final results are received when testing any direct food contact surface sites for allergens. Items and surfaces directly over or in close proximity to direct food contact surfaces such as areas within enclosed equipment, brooms, vacuums, and compressed air lines are also important areas for testing consideration. Product holds may not be required for testing these sites.
Secondary Goal: Assess the effectiveness of current cleaning, sanitation, and employee hygiene practices
Achieving Food Allergen Control
- Ingredient control – know what you are buying and don’t inherit your supplier’s problems, test to make sure you are not bringing unwanted allergens into the processing environment
- Facility mapping – know where allergens are likely to occur
- Dedicated equipment
- Production scheduling – allergen-free products before allergen-containing products
- Thorough cleaning
- Traffic control – personnel and equipment
- Segregation of allergen-containing and allergen-free ingredients and products
- Rework control
- Air and dust control
- Water control – to prevent wash water contamination
A well designed Allergen Environmental Monitoring Program will include samples from various areas throughout your production process. It is important to consider equipment that is used for both allergen-free products and allergen-containing products. Consideration of employee traffic patterns and behaviors also is important to identify areas that are easily contaminated. Equipment that can carry dust, such as vacuum cleaners, brooms, and compressed air are also potential sources for food allergens in the processing environment.
The simplest way to organize your sampling program is to map the processing environment and identify multiple sampling sites based on your specific facility design and processes. The number of samples to collect will depend on line complexity. If the final number of sampling sites is substantial, you can rotate sites at each sampling interval to increase coverage. For example, if you have identified 60 potential sampling sites, you can randomly select 10 to 15 sites each week, making sure that each site is sampled at least once per month. This system will help you stretch your testing budget while making sure you sample all sites needed to maintain program effectiveness. Keep a detailed sampling site log and facility map that details locations of sampling sites. The log should contain written detail on how to collect samples from difficult to access areas such as within processing equipment.
When considering sites to sample, those sites that are direct product contact surfaces – those surfaces where product is exposed to the environment before final package closure – are considered most important. Suggested sampling locations include tables, conveyor belts, buckets, fillers, hoppers, utensils, employee hands, and gloves. It is important to note that all product produced on the line tested should be held until final results are received when testing any direct food contact surface sites for allergens. Items and surfaces directly over or in close proximity to direct food contact surfaces such as areas within enclosed equipment, brooms, vacuums, and compressed air lines are also important areas for testing consideration. Product holds may not be required for testing these sites.