The headlines over the past year from the food industry are thick with reports of new recalls, including foodborne illness outbreaks that have taken the lives of consumers.
In 2023 alone, 313 food recalls and alerts were announced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Department of Agriculture, an 8% increase over 2022. Of these, almost half (49.3%) were related to undeclared allergens on packaging.
And in the event of a food safety recall, a company can find itself facing devastating damage to its reputation and bottom line.
Clearly, accounting for food allergens is at the very core of food safety. Last week, we held a webinar with Betsy Craig, the CEO and founder of MenuTrinfo and co chair of the Food Allergen Committee for the Conference for Food Protection, to discuss the dangers of food allergens and how companies can prevent an allergen-based food recall.
Here are 5 key takeaways from the webinar.
1. The threat has worsened - greatly
Betsy Craig refers to the “epidemic” of food allergens and it's easy to understand why. According to Craig, in 2010 it was estimated that under 10 million Americans had dangerous food allergies.
By 2011 that number climbed to 15 million and by 2019, it was estimated at 32 million.
“That 32 million doesn’t just affect them. It affects their families too so about 85 million Americans pay attention to what’s on the label or what’s on the menu for themselves or someone they love,” Craig said, adding that “food is love, it’s not supposed to hurt.”
Also, Craig stated that adults made up the majority of people diagnosed with new allergens over the past decade.
2.“Contact” not Contamination
When we discuss foodborne illnesses, at the center is the question of where the contamination occurs and how such contamination can be prevented moving forward.
With food allergies however, another word is used: contact.
“With contamination, a lot of things with foodborne illness can be cooked out but when it comes to allergens, it doesn't matter how long you cook a specific allergen,” Craig said.
3. Labeling is the main cause of recalls
Even if a company has a solid allergen plan in place, failure to properly label products can make it all for naught.
“It’s a labeling issue. Food goes out and doesn’t mention [on the label] that it contains dairy and then they have to do a recall…we see it all the time,” Craig said.
She added that labeling is “absolutely” at the center of food allergen management, especially considering that the label is typically the only information the consumer has about what a product may contain.
4. Dairy is the deadliest allergy
When people think of food allergens, what often comes to mind is a schoolchild with a deadly peanut allergy. And anyone who has had children in school over the past decade has seen the instructions not to bring peanuts or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school.
Actually, dairy is the most lethal of the nine allergens (dairy, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, soybeans, and sesame).
“Peanuts have the most hospitalizations but dairy is the one that is actually the most lethal,” Craig noted.
5. Training is key to allergen prevention
Every food company - be it a CPG producer or a restaurant - needs an allergen plan. But an allergen plan is not static, it is a living, breathing document that can change frequently as new products and ingredients are rolled out.
But executing any allergen plan requires training. According to Craig, training should be done regularly, and is “the umbrella” that covers her 9 steps for allergy safety.
“We encourage all people in food to go through some level of training to know how to not have cross contact so that food is safe from the loading dock to the table top.”
You can watch the webinar “How to Prevent Allergens and Safeguard Your Company” here to get all the takeaways. You can also view a copy of MenuTrinfo’s 9-step successful allergen control plan here.
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