Allergen cross-contact control plan supporting the implementation of food allergen management (FAM) in small food businesses

Abstract

Allergen cross-contamination is a significant area of food allergen management (FAM) caused by the presence of unintended allergens in food products. In this study, a list of allergen transmission vectors (ATVs) and allergen cross-contact (ACC) control measures were identified, and their prevalence was determined in 36 small food businesses (SFBs). Based on the data and using a T-shaped matrix diagram (T-SMD), a concise ACC control plan was developed and assessed. The utility of the plan, expressed as the Document Usability Index (DUI), was determined and weighted taxation scores for the criteria of DUI ranged from 0.2 to 2.7, while the relative value of DUI was 0.66. Thus, as a user-friendly document, the plan was implemented in four SFBs and operated for nine months. To assess the performance of the ACC control plan, three indicators were established, including the number of complaints concerning food allergens, the number of ACC control measures used, and the number of non-compliances identified during internal audits focused on ACC control. During the trial period, complaints appeared only once in two SFBs. Before the plan was applied, the number of ACC control measures used was 6–10, while after the application of the T-SMD control plan, the number ranged from 14 to 17. In all SFBS, a decreasing tendency in the number of non-compliances was observed, and the relative number of non-compliances during three-quarters of the control plan operation reached 0.4–0.55, 0.36–0.4 and 0.09–0.2, respectively. The results of this work showed the effectiveness of the ACC control plan in the form of T-SMD to control unintentionally added allergens affecting food safety. The results of the study may be very useful for SFBs in the context of recommendations related to allergen control included in the new version of General Principles of Food Hygiene (CXC 1–1969, 2020) as well as in the context of amendments to the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Hygiene of Foodstuffs (EC, 2021).