Vegan food: testing for undesirable allergens
Why good allergen management is important
Nov 2022. The use of various plant-based raw materials requires a new risk assessment. Manufacturers who add plant-based substitute products to their classic product range, which is commonly based on animal raw materials increase the entry potential of undesirable cross-contamination by allergens such as milk or soy proteins for both product lines. Good allergen management is therefore essential to ensure reliable labeling for consumers with allergies or food intolerances and to make the portfolio expansion the desired success.[1]
One in ten respondents states that they suffer from a food intolerance[2]
Data from the Federal Statistical Office show that more and more companies in the food industry and retail trade are offering vegan and vegetarian products. Vegan and vegetarian foods have gained an economic and social significance in the past two years that should not be underestimated.[3]
In addition to known food allergens such as various nuts, egg or lupine, lactose and gluten can also cause complaints among affected consumers. So it is not only the allergens that need to be well managed internally. The substances and products that trigger intolerances are also relevant.[4]
A total of 138 relevant entries due to allergen contamination have been made in the European Rapid Alert System (RASFF) since January 2021. Gluten (19 %), nut (17 %), milk (17 %), and soy (14 %) are the most frequently detected allergens on which an entry was based. Mustard and celery also represent a significant proportion with a total of 15 %.
If such substances or products that trigger allergies or intolerances are found unlabelled in food, this will influence the current and future purchase decision of the affected consumer. The detection of these will usually lead to a withdrawal or public recall of the affected food.
Small batch sizes and large product portfolios present a particular challenge
Planning principles such as "allergens always at the end" or "Friday is egg day" quickly reach the limits of feasibility with large product portfolios and small batch sizes. At this point, it makes sense to work with crosstabs or restrictive planning tools. Both variants are based on knowledge of which formulations or ingredients contain substances or products that trigger allergies or intolerances.
If this is combined with the product-specific declaration, groups of foods can be formed that have the same allergenic potential. The labelling of allergenic traces also plays an important role here. For products that have a different potential, a cleaning step may be necessary between product changes. If extensive cleaning to remove allergens is not feasible in practice, it is advisable to consider replacing certain parts that come into contact with the product (e.g., change of knifes or conveyor belts) and to clean the contaminated parts at a suitable time. Read our article "Labelling of allergen traces: the VITAL concept" to learn more about this topic.
The cleaning of contaminated surfaces and objects requires special care
Most of the substances or products that cause allergies or intolerances, listed in annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 are proteins or products containing proteins. To remove these residues, chemical cleaning agents, so-called protein solvents, are usually required. It is usually not sufficient to clean with water nor alcohol wipes to remove these contaminations.
Good allergen management leads to restrictions in production planning. As a result, intermediate cleaning may be necessary. These intermediate cleanings are unfavorable because moisture and chemicals are introduced into the production area during production time. In practice, cleaning is carried out with particular care. However, the cleaning result is basically dependent on the factors temperature, time, chemistry and mechanics. If one of these factors is reduced, this must be compensated for by another.
To ensure the cleaning success, it is necessary to swab samples from both the cleaned surfaces and the uncleaned surfaces, which is necessary to proof to interested third parties that the surfaces were also previously contaminated. In addition, you should ensure overall success by conducting a final product inspection. For this purpose, it is advisable to analyse the first products produced on the cleaned surfaces for the respective allergens. Further aspects that are important in the review of allergen management can be found in our article "Verifying your allergen management in compliance with regulations and certification".
Analytical detection of allergenic components
For detecting the proteins, which are responsible for the allergenic reaction, we recommend the ELISA method (Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay). This kind of method could be used for products, swabs but also cleaning water. This protein-based analysis offers the possibility to test e.g. for egg, milk and whey proteins (e.g. casein, ß-lactoglobulin), gluten, proteins of different nuts, etc. An ELISA offers the advantage of rapid, sensitive and quantitative testing in a variety of matrices.
In some cases, detection of allergenic components by PCR may also be appropriate. This does not detect the allergenic proteins but the DNA of the allergenic components. PCR methods can be highly specific and can also be used in various products and environmental samples.
Please contact us
If you have any further questions about analysis or require advice on the subject of allergens, please do not hesitate to contact your personal account manager or send an email to Elisabeth Dytkiewitz. We look forward to your enquiry!
Relevant sources
[1] Regulation (EU) 2021/382 on food hygiene as regards allergen management in the food sector
[2] Statista Infografik: Lebensmittelunverträglichkeit? Es ist kompliziert! (in German)
[3] Statistisches Bundesamt, Press release No. N 025 of 9 May 2022
[4] Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (consolidated text)
