Why do you need to know all about allergens?

It was in the news again recently: incorrect allergen information is one of the leading causes of company recalls. Whether it's due to incorrect allergen information from the supplier, a mix-up of raw materials or packaging that incorrectly states or omits allergen information, recalls cost companies a lot of money and are a waste of food that can no longer be sold. And that is a waste of all the time, money and effort put into the production of the food.

Importance of allergens

Dealing with allergens is therefore important for every food company, and not just for the people who develop the recipes or the people who purchase the raw materials. For everyone who plays a role in the production process, it is important to know what allergens are and how to avoid allergen contamination or other errors involving allergens.

Management measures

Many companies, of course, already have a variety of management measures in place to prevent errors with allergens. This is already taken into account when formulating recipes. Allergens are also carefully considered when purchasing raw materials. In storage there are measures for separate storage, so that allergen-free raw materials cannot be confused with raw materials that do contain allergens. In production planning, allergen-free products are scheduled on a separate line or just after the line has been thoroughly cleaned. Thus, every effort is made to avoid contamination or confusion. If everything goes according to the quality plan, things should always go well.

Where does it go wrong?

Yet it often turns out to go wrong. The most frequent cause is mix-ups, whereby the wrong raw material or semi-finished product ends up in a product or a product is mislabeled. After that, an incorrectly prepared label is the most important cause. Extra attention to allergens is therefore certainly not an unnecessary luxury. An (online) training can then be an additional tool, so that employees know the 14 legal allergens and how to prevent contamination. And think not only of permanent employees, but especially of temporary workers who may be working in a food company for the first time. Even for this group of employees, knowledge and awareness are the most important factors in preventing problems.

Training dealing with allergens renewed!

Précon's Dealing with Allergens training has now been revamped. The training is aimed at production workers and teaches them not only what the 14 legal allergens are and what they can contain, but more importantly how to deal with allergens in production to prevent problems. This helps employees understand why it is so important to handle allergens carefully and shows them where the dangers lie. Because when things go wrong with allergens, the cause is usually a mistake.

We hope that this training will contribute to the employees' level of knowledge and that everyone will soon remember why knowledge about allergens is so important. All this in the hope that the 2020 figures will show fewer recalls. That would really be a great result!

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