According to the Food Allergen Research and Resource Program at the University of Nebraska, allergen recalls have been trending upwards for products regulated by both the FDA and the USDA.
ne of the preventive controls mandated in FDA’s “Current Good Manufacturing Practice Hazard Analysis and Risk Based Preventive Controls for Human Food” is allergen management. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Washington, D.C.,acknowledges that allergens are a significant food safety concern, hence their designation as a preventive control. It is also an issue that has been on the food industry’s radar for a number of years.
Food processors of all kinds have incorporated allergen management into their food safety management systems (FSMS) whether they are handling allergens or not. Yet, even though the regulators—the industry itself, developers of third-party audit schemes and those involved with the development of international standards—all focus on allergen management, there has been a steady increase in recalls attributed to allergens over the past 15 years.