Allergens and more specifically, the management of them in the supply chain is one of the biggest challenges that faces the food industry. Poor allergen management can lead to serious health problems and even death. The subject is in and out of the news cycle, but what actually is an allergen? What can happen to those people who are intolerant or allergic to a specific allergen, and, what can be done to reduce the risk of an often-invisible food safety issue?
In this article we are going to explore these themes and look at how allergen risks are managed in the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) environment.
First things first, lets define what an allergen is. In the simplest terms, an allergen is a normally harmless substance that, in some people, causes the immune system to react as if it were a threat, leading to an allergic reaction.
Allergic reactions can cause the body to react with anything from harmless (although annoying,) hives or skin blemishes, through to mild swelling (often the lips), through to highly dangerous anaphylactic shock and possible death. The amount of allergen needed to cause the body to react depends on the individual, but in some cases a dose as small as 1ppm (1 part per million,) would be enough to invoke a reaction. Allergens don’t need to be fully ingested to cause a reaction, often an allergen touching the skin is enough to cause a reaction. The fact that such small amounts can cause reactions is part of the reason why food businesses strive to uphold high standards of allergen management, and why visibility across the supply chain is crucial
There's is no way of knowing that you have an allergy, and the strength of reaction can grow or diminish over your lifespan. Managing an allergy can be anything from trying to avoid certain foods, a complete dietary swap e.g. dairy, or having to carry an epi pen with adrenaline to counter act the bodies immune response.
UK food law requires businesses to highlight the presence of 14 specific allergens on food labels, which are:
These 14 allergens are the most common causes of food allergies and intolerances, and food businesses are legally obligated to inform consumers about their presence. As our tastes, food trends and the global nature of food supply chains have developed, so has the increase in risk from possible allergens being present as an ingredient or through cross contamination.
The amount of Quick Service Restaurants (or QSR) has grown exponentially across the UK in the past 20 years. From kebab shops to a casual meal, a coffee or a sweet or savoury treat, the rise of these QSR establishments has added new complexity in the UK Food legislative environment.
Where traditional food manufacturing facilities making own brand or private label goods have had the structure of BRCGS – Global Foods standards or other GFSI standards and audits as well as customer codes of practice to comply to, The QSR sector has been playing catch up.
This was brought into sharp focus in 2021 following the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, the teenager who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret-a-Manger baguette. After this, the government confirmed stronger laws would be implemented to protect those with allergies and give them greater confidence in the food they buy.
Natasha's Law, implemented in October 2021, mandates that food businesses label "prepacked for direct sale" (PPDS) foods with a full ingredient list, emphasizing the 14 major allergens, to protect individuals with food allergies.
Not only has this new law has had an impact on business selling PPDS items, but has also focused restaurants and other more casual food outlets on their allergen practices.
One of the biggest challenges for QSR businesses is the diversity within the sector. While a traditional food manufacturing facility may be purpose built, with clear systems and processes in place for the management of allergens, QSR premises can range from locations in a train station, airport, shipping container or a mobile food stall. They can be tight compact spaces, poorly ventilated or deep in the bowels of a Victorian station where the considerations for sushi or sandwich preparation were not at the forefront of the minds of our great industrial engineers like Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Kitchens are often small to maximise revenue output from paying customers, as even one or two extra tables can dramatically increase profit.
With such a wide variety of locations, managing cross contamination, ingredient storage and people movement in a standardised way is a key challenge in keeping the public safe from the risk of allergens.
QSR’s are now looking at three key areas to improve allergen managements and get in front of issues to keep their supply chains, and more importantly, their customers safe.
Understanding and identifying possible allergen risk factors is key to managing and mitigating possible allergen risks.
A strong risk assessment encompassing all parts of the QSR supply chain including customers is critical to identify where possible allergen risks can occur. A risk assessment can also demonstrate how to mitigate these risks and manage them.
Understanding of your ingredients is vital to identifying allergen risks. A strong specification highlighting all sub ingredients and possible cross contamination via manufacturing or other ingredients handled is paramount to get a overall picture of possible allergen risks and what allergens are being brought into the QSR premises.
For ingredients that carry significant risk visiting or auditing suppliers can be an important tool to strengthen due diligence. Ensuring you have an open dialogue with ingredient suppliers will mean an issue does arise, you’ll be aware of it. So if there are any manufacturing, sourcing or allergen changes, you are informed and can mitigate any risk e.g. updating menus, produce labels etc. Building strong supplier relationships is not only commercially beneficial but can also help with protecting a brand and customers. Using suppliers who are BRCGS, SALSA or GFSI certified goes some way to ensuring you are getting safe ingredients.
Moving ingredients may not seem like a big risk when it comes to allergens, however, if you don’t control your logistics, how do you know what could be transported with the ingredients you have purchased and if there is a cross-contamination risk? Understanding the practices of your logistics partner by visiting depots, warehouses and inspecting delivery vehicles as well as delivered vehicles is a hands-on method to identify risks.
Identifying the areas in a kitchen where there is a risk of allergen cross contamination as well as understanding the equipment used in a kitchen can help identify those potential hotspots for allergen cross contamination. To mitigate risks, QSR’s can look at the flow of the kitchen as well and ensuring equipment design is conducive to easy cleaning to avoid debris. Ensuring equipment is colour coded for certain ingredients and allergens can also ensure that any ingredients being processed are easily identified as an allergen and can help overall food safety and cleanliness.
Ensuring that staff are trained and have an understanding not only of allergens but the risks they pose to the public is crucial. A QSR will employ a number of staff performing different roles however they all share one main role in common, keeping the public safe. It’s incredibly important that staff are trained to identify allergen risks, understand how to manage these risks and mitigate them.
Often in a QSR environment staff are the sole people handling and preparing food so ensuring they are trained in the correct allergen storage, preparation and spillage Is vital to manage allergens. Staff in the QSR environment can come from all over the globe so ensuring that training is delivered in a manner that cuts through language and cultural barriers is also crucial to ensure the highest allergen management standards are met.
Customers can also play a vital role in allergen management! Ensuring that any allergens are disclosed (if known) can help a QSR in ensuring their experience is positive. Where labelling and information is available to review customers should take the opportunity to examine these closely. However, the information must be accurate, and this is the responsibility of the QSR operator Disclosing any allergen risk at the start of a meal can also help a QSR operator manage any potential risks.
Managing allergens in the QSR environment is one of the most challenging assignments for a food business operator. The tight spaces of kitchens, challenges with staff, and the introduction of new and exciting ingredients from around the globe make for a potential perfect storm for allergen issues. Ensuring risk is identified, managed, and mitigated is key to operating a safe and sustainable QSR venture.
Technology now plays a vital role in supporting allergen management, helping businesses digitally track ingredients, automate allergen risk assessments, and improve real-time visibility across supply chains. To learn more about how food safety is going digital download the whitepaper below: