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Allergen Cleaning: Best Practices

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Food Allergens

Part of the book series: Food Microbiology and Food Safety ((PRACT))

Abstract

Managing allergen changeover in food production facilities can be exceptionally challenging, especially when different allergens are handled on the same line or piece of equipment. Allergen cross-contact can occur when allergen-containing and non-allergen-containing foods or ingredients are produced in the same facility or processing line and allergen controls are not properly implemented. Cleaning is an essential tool for preventing allergen cross-contact during storage, production, and transportation of food. Many factors must be considered when developing cleaning procedures for the purpose of controlling allergens. These include the soil type, the composition and type of food-contact surface, how the food was applied to the surface, the concentration of the allergen in the food, the type and age of the equipment, the length of the processing run, and the type of cleaning method. This chapter discusses the factors that affect removal of allergens from food-contact surfaces, the different approaches for removal of allergenic food soils from food-contact surfaces, best practices and procedures for verifying and validating cleaning treatments for allergen removal and the steps associated with developing an allergen cleaning program. More effective approaches are needed for removing allergens from food-contact surfaces, particularly in the low-moisture foods manufacturing environment. Development of statistically based sampling plans for obtaining samples for cleaning validation and verification activities, and rapid, sensitive, and inexpensive analytical methods for detecting multiple allergens in a single assay are also key research needs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Food Processing Science and Technology, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bedford Park, IL, 60501, USA

    Lauren S. Jackson

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  1. Lauren S. Jackson
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Correspondence to Lauren S. Jackson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Food Processing Science and Technology, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bedford Park, Illinois, USA

    Tong-Jen Fu

  2. Division of Food Processing Science and Technology, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Bedford Park, Illinois, USA

    Lauren S. Jackson

  3. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, Institute for Food Safety and Health, Illinois Institute of Technology, Bedford Park, Illinois, USA

    Kathiravan Krishnamurthy

  4. Food Research Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Wendy Bedale

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Jackson, L.S. (2018). Allergen Cleaning: Best Practices. In: Fu, TJ., Jackson, L., Krishnamurthy, K., Bedale, W. (eds) Food Allergens. Food Microbiology and Food Safety(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66586-3_8

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