Allergen legislation starts to bite

The food industry's response to allergen control and management has greatly improved during the past 12 months according to experts at Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL). The company draws this conclusion based on an appraisal of its analytical, consulting and training contracts during 2007.

"Activity is up on all fronts," says Simon Flanagan, Head of Speciality Analysis & Allergen Services. "Analytical testing for allergens has significantly, but the key point to note here is that the reason for testing has changed. Clients predominantly used to request testing of finished products, but through our training and consultancy services we have helped promote pre-requisite programmes aimed at preventing contamination. Now a significant portion of our clients use testing to verify that their control systems are working."

There has also been a dramatic increase in demand for RSSL's training courses, especially for bespoke and in-house training. "Two years ago, there was minimal interest in allergen training," admits Simon. "Now RSSL Food Training runs a diverse range of allergen management / awareness courses which are always fully subscribed."

Consultancy is also on the up, and RSSL has encouraged many clients to adopt pre-requisite programmes, such as staff training, cleaning validation and verification, to supplement a HACCP based approach to allergen management.

"The situation is improving, but we cannot be complacent," says Simon. "The food industry still sees too many food recalls involving the inaccurate labelling of foods that might contain allergens. This often happens when a product is put into the wrong packaging, or when recipe changes are not reflected properly on the packaging being used."