The 14 Allergens: Allergen Labelling Rules and Best Practices

Allergen Management

First and foremost, you need a solid overview of the allergens present in your products. As a quality professional in the food industry, you are responsible for ensuring accurate allergen information. Your responsibilities include:

• Ingredient management: Verifying that suppliers provide correct allergen information.
• Recipe management: Composing accurate recipes based on your raw materials.
• Production registration: Monitoring the production process to prevent cross-contamination.
• Label control: Ensuring compliance with legislation and readability for the consumer.

These tasks require attention to detail, up-to-date knowledge of the legislation and collaboration across different departments within your company.

The 14 Regulated Allergens

EU Regulation 1169/2011 requires 14 specific allergens to be declared. These allergens must be explicitly named in the ingredient declaration and clearly emphasised (for example, in bold text).

The complete list of the 14 allergens:

1. Cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut and products thereof).
2. Crustaceans (such as shrimp, lobster, crab and products thereof).
3. Eggs and products based on eggs.
4. Fish and products based on fish (with the exception of fish gelatine used as a carrier in vitamin or carotenoid preparations).
5. Peanuts and products based on peanuts.
6. Soy and products based on soy (with some exceptions, such as fully refined soybean oil).
7. Milk and products based on milk (including lactose).
8. Tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashew nuts, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts and Queensland nuts, and products thereof).
9. Celery and products based on celery.
10. Mustard and products based on mustard.
11. Sesame seeds and products based on sesame seeds.
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre (expressed as SO₂).
13. Lupin and products based on lupin.
14. Molluscs (such as snails, mussels, squid) and products thereof.

Tip: Use Eclarion's allergen management to manage this information systematically and integrate it with your existing QA processes.

Cross-Contamination: How to Prevent It

In production facilities, the risk of cross-contamination is a major challenge. QA professionals need to:

1. Conduct risk assessments: Use methods such as HACCP to identify potential contamination points.
2. Implement separation measures: Ensure dedicated production lines or clear cleaning protocols.
3. Adapt labels accordingly: If cross-contamination cannot be ruled out after a risk assessment, use precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) such as "May contain [allergen]" or "Not suitable for people with a [allergen] allergy".

Important: Precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) should only be used after a substantiated risk assessment, never as a replacement for preventive measures.

The Legislation: What Are the Specific Requirements?

EU Regulation 1169/2011 prescribes:

• Ingredient list: All allergens must be listed in the ingredient declaration and emphasised (for example, in bold).
• Non-prepacked food: Allergen information must also be available here, for example via signs or on request.
• Language: Use clear and consistent terms that consumers can easily understand.

Practical tip: Use regular internal audits to verify that labels are in line with the latest regulations.

Process Optimisation: Integrating Allergen Management

An effective approach starts with a streamlined process. QA professionals can take the following steps:

1. Supplier management:

   • Request allergen declarations with every delivery.
   • Regularly verify the information with suppliers.

2. Internal training:

   • Train production staff to handle allergens with care.
   • Organise workshops on minimising cross-contamination.

3. Automation:

   • Use allergen management software to keep information accurate and up to date.
   • Integrate allergen information into your ERP system to minimise errors.

4. Regular checks:

   • Carry out spot checks on labels and production processes.
   • Work with external auditors for a fresh perspective.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

QA professionals in the food industry should be vigilant about common pitfalls:

1. Incomplete allergen overview for raw materials:

   • Solution: Use a checklist or software to systematically verify information.

2. Illegible labels:

   • Solution: Test labels for readability, even under poor lighting conditions.

3. Unjustified precautionary allergen labelling (PAL):

   • Solution: Base "may contain" statements exclusively on a quantitative risk assessment. See reference doses per allergen for the thresholds used in PAL assessments.

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Getting Started With Allergen Labelling

For QA professionals in the food industry, allergen labelling is a complex but crucial process. It requires collaboration, a systematic approach and continuous improvement. By paying attention to ingredient management, risk assessments and clear labels, you safeguard food safety and earn consumer trust. Read how to use the PAL assessment in Eclarion to substantiate "may contain" warnings.

Want to optimise your allergen management process? Discover how Eclarion helps or explore the benefits. Get in touch for personal advice.