Principles of Food Sanitation

and become an allergy. Typical symptoms of
allergenic reactions to food include nausea,
vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, anaphy-
lactic shock, atopic dermatitis, rhinitis, and
asthma.

What are allergens?

Allergens are substances that cause the
immune system to trigger and act against
itself. Normally, this condition happens
when foreign bodies such as bacteria enter
the human body. However, innocent and
harmless bodies (proteins) such as pollen,
peanuts, milk, penicillin may not be recog-
nized by the immune system and continue to
function as a harmful foreign body. Yet,
wasps and other insects produce allergens as
a defense mechanism.
A food allergy is triggered when a natural
substance is mistaken for a hostile invader,
causing immune systems to mobilize to repel
the invader. According to Bodendorfer et al.
(2004), food allergies are mediated by IgE
antibodies to proteins-a characteristic
shared with other allergens such as those
present in hay fever (an acute allergic nasal
condition) and wasp-sting reactions. The
severity of food allergy symptoms varies
from life-threatening reactions when exposed
to food proteins that are allergens to which
they are sensitized, to less severe reactions
such as skin irritation and breathing diffi-
culty. Since no cure is available for food aller-
gies, avoidance is the only preventive
measure available to allergic consumers.

Allergen control

A definite trend toward product recalls
associated with undeclared allergens in man-
ufactured products has developed. An effec-

tive technique for the control of allergens is

the organization and implementation of an

allergen control plan (ACP). Such a plan can

avoid inadvertent allergen cross-contamina-

tion with resultant recalls and potentially

adverse or possibly fatal physiological reac-

tions from consumers. Deibel and Murphy

(2003/2004) identify an ACP as a systematic

method in a food processing facility that

identifies and controls allergens from the

incoming ingredients to the final packaged

product. Corporate managers, plant man-

agers, and management employees involved

in quality assurance, quality control, produc-

tion, sanitation, and purchasing should all

accept the responsibility for the develop-

ment, implementation, and maintenance of

an ACP.

Deibel and Murphy (2003/2004) consider

an ACP to be an ancillary program to a

manufacturing plant’s Hazard Analysis and

Critical Control Points (HACCP) plan. The

two major components of an ACP are:

1. Allergen assessment as part of the haz-
   ard analysis (a chemical hazard).


2. After allergen identification, as a raw
   ingredient or contained within a roll
   ingredient, control steps should be
   established if the product is not run on
   a separate line or a complete wet clean-
   ing is performed between allergen and
   non-allergen-containing products.

Causes of Allergen Contamination

Possible processing errors that result in

allergen-containing product contamination

include:

●cross-contamination through inade-

quate cleaning of equipment used

for the manufacture of non-allergen-

containing products produced after

allergen-containing foods

●changing of ingredients without an aller-

gen assessment of the new materials

The Relationship of Allergens to Sanitation 71