Allergen testing is critical in the food processing and agricultural sectors. This process is essential in ensuring that various food ingredients used in production are safe for human consumption. Often, different people have varying reactions to specific food products. For this reason, food producers must conduct allergen tests to prevent consumers from suffering adverse allergic reactions. 

Therefore, ensuring high accuracy for any allergen test performed when harvesting, processing and packaging agricultural food products is essential. This post will discuss the various allergen testing and control points in food manufacturing processes. Read on to learn more.

Food/Ingredient Storage 

All food manufacturers must identify different allergens in specific foods sent to the market. Allergen identification involves various allergen tests, including gluten and food chemistry analysis. After this, they should isolate these allergens from non-allergenic products. It's also imperative to store allergen-based ingredients safely to prevent potential contamination. 

Production Scheduling

Proper production scheduling to separate allergen-based products is a popular strategy for managing allergens. Ideally, it's imperative to schedule allergen-based food products towards the end of the day shift. In turn, it helps prevent these foods from coming in contact with non-allergenic products or potential cross-contamination. 

Ingredient Contact Surfaces 

Generally, changes in food production lines are the primary cause of allergenic contamination. That happens when there are no specific procedures to pinpoint products that might be in the same category but produced with different formulas. 

Therefore, it's vital to remember that food contact surfaces can contribute significantly to allergen contamination in subsequent production runs. Ensuring proper sanitation and cleaning helps eliminate allergen-containing elements after the completion of each run. 

Non-Ingredient Contact Surfaces 

Thorough cleaning of non-food contact surfaces is crucial in containing food allergens. While these surfaces might not be in direct contact with non-allergenic foods, aspects like food handling and pressure-spraying might cause potential cross-contamination. 

Food Sampling and Testing 

Various test kits help identify food allergens in different products, surfaces and CIP rinse water. Some food products that undergo allergen testing include soy, milk, egg, peanut and almond, to mention a few. Therefore, in any food processing environment, only highly trained allergen testing personnel and quality assurance teams must handle the processes.  

Food Product Labelling 

Finally, food packaging could become a nightmare if the formulas used in the manufacturing processes aren't understood. If food processing teams aren't aware of the products containing allergens, they might confuse their packaging. Consequently, packing allergen-based products into non-allergen packaging can expose consumers to health risks and result in costly lawsuits.  

For more information about allergen testing, contact a local company.