FoodDrinkEurope Launches Guidance on Food Allergen Management for Food Manufacturers

The industry body FoodDrinkEurope has launched its Guidance on Food Allergen Management for food manufacturers. The first Guidance of its kind, sets out general principles to manage specific pre-prepacked foods causing allergy or certain intolerances and provides sound, evidence-based and consistent information on good practice in risk management of allergenic foods for producers.

4 Feb 2013 --- FoodDrinkEurope is at the forefront of recognising that food allergies and intolerances are a food safety issue and allergen management should be an integrated part of food safety assurance strategies. Scientific understanding of the risk from food allergens has grown over the last 20 years. This Guidance goes a long way to helping food companies to develop a consistent understanding of the risk from allergenic foods across the industry and to fulfill their responsibility to establish a food safety management system which is compliant with legal requirements.

As general guiding principles, they can be readily adapted to different product process and production facility designs to provide information about food allergy and food allergens and to indicate their importance as food safety hazards.

Food labelling legislation has led to significant improvements in informing consumers with food allergies and food intolerances about the nature and composition of foods before purchasing. The guidance also includes information on developing approaches to the application of advisory labelling.

Commenting on the launch of the guidance FoodDrinkEurope President, Jesús Serafín Pérez said, ‘’by harmonising and disseminating good practice across the European food industry at all levels, the FoodDrinkEurope Guidance ensures a consistent understanding of, and approach to, managing allergens and certain food causing intolerances to a high standard throughout the European food industry. This will help minimise the risk to allergic consumers and enable consumers to make informed product choices’’.

The food industry and partners will continue to build on the significant efforts already made in implementing allergen risk management practices as ultimately, managing the improved consistency of allergen management, methods and practices will benefit consumers suffering from allergies and food safety management across the food industry.

The Guidance on Food Allergen Management for Food Manufacturers is available here:
http://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/publications/category/guidelines/