With a draft guidance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergens, Including the Food Allergen Labeling Requirements of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (Edition 5); Guidance for Industry.

Food Allergy Canada recently released its Allergen Management Guidelines for Food Manufacturers, which includes online training and a user guide. The guidelines aim to support Canadian food and beverage manufacturers in managing allergens in their facility to enhance food safety.

Errors involving product contamination, misbranding, and undeclared allergens remain the three leading causes of food recalls. Since employees are the cornerstone for preventing allergen and gluten adulteration, providing proper training to staff can prevent errors that could lead to a recall.

A recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization raises a concern with the limited existing data on seaweed food safety, and recommends several actions to close knowledge gaps and increase the safety of seaweed consumption.

There are two big game-changers for improving food allergen safety: more effective food labeling, as well as risk assessments to understand the severity and frequency of allergic reactions. Identifying, prioritizing, and standardizing the list of major food allergens across global borders will help protect people everywhere living with allergies.

The Allergen Bureau has launched its new “Assessing Agricultural Cross-Contact 2022” guide, which aims to assist agrifood businesses in mitigating allergen cross-contamination.

Hygiena’s new Allergen App integrates allergen testing results into a cloud-based environmental monitoring tool for insight into process control, contamination sources, trend analyses, and audit preparation. 

Faced with oat shortages domestically, some food manufacturers have looked to international sources of gluten-free oats with mixed success due to concerns about comingling. One option for obtaining high-quality oats is to source oats that are certified as gluten-free.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has released data on recalls in 2021 and recall trends over the last decade, revealing a drop in recalls overall. Allergen recalls accounted for half of all recalls in 2021.

The Gluten Intolerance Group has provided advice to the food industry on transparent labeling for gluten-free products, in honor of Celiac Awareness Month.