A food allergy is an immune system response to a food that the body recognizes as foreign and harmful to it. It is now estimated that around 200 to 250 million people (around 6% of the population) suffer from a food allergy, up from previous research by Elucidare Limited in 2011 which estimated it at around 150 million people worldwide.

The Allergen Bureau announced in February 2020 that during the last decade, 40% of recalls coordinated by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) were due to undeclared allergens and similarly, in 2019, undeclared allergens was the most common reason for recalls issued by The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA FSIS).

Hence, Food and beverage manufacturers have a responsibility to identify allergens that are contained in their products and act to isolate them from other non-allergen products processed in the same facility.

For more information or training on Allergen Management, do drop us an email at auditing@certedit.com and training@certedit.com