Allergen Control Plan

The expertise to help you tailor a fully-functional allergen control program

Poor control and labeling of allergens in foods has the potential for adversely impacting the health of millions of consumers. It is arguably the largest food safety hurdle for many food manufacturers. This is evident by the number of U.S. food recalls every year. For 2024, recalls related to allergen concerns once again topped the list for all recall categories at 34%. This percentage is based on more than 100 U.S. recalls in 2024, a number that has been consistently equaled or exceeded in each of the last 10 years. We have a unique cadre of former industry and government experts who have spent many years designing and implementing complete allergen control programs, and they are ready to assist you in every facet of implementing an effective program.

Comprehensive support from crustacea to wheat

Allergen control is of such importance in food production that congress passed a law in 2004, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, to heighten the awareness for consumer protection from poor allergen control and improper labeling. The complexity of this control is evident when you consider that 20 years later, food manufacturers are still struggling to comply with this law and protect consumers. Allow our scientists and regulatory experts help you put in place an effective allergen control program that ensures your company will not be one of the many every year that undergo the costs and bad publicity of a recall in addition to potential harm to consumers. We can help with the following necessary components to an allergen control program:

A general risk assessment of allergens related to your facility and processes, particularly with respect to product and employee flow and equipment design and separation
The importance of product development, ingredient and vendor selection, and how this impacts allergen issues in your plant
Development and control of proper labels that comply with regulatory requirements
Controls required for receiving preprinted labels and ingredients
Effective sanitation needs during and after production to prepare for the next product
The importance of production scheduling to reduce the likelihood of allergen issues
Components of allergenic ingredient storage and handling throughout the facility
Training for all employees on the importance of allergen controls and GMPs
Practices necessary to prevent cross contact with allergens during production
Storage, release and verification of labeling to ensure accuracy and correctness
Verification processes to demonstrate effective control of allergens throughout the entire production process
Identification and use of appropriate test methods for detection of unwanted allergens
Understanding the differences in international recognition of allergenic ingredients and the importance these differences make on companies that export their products

Contact us to explore how our consultants can help you navigate the critical, complex process of allergen control in your company.

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