Food Allergens and the importance in Restaurants

Imagine the following: You are at a restaurant, and the rice you ordered for dinner arrives; you start eating it very calmly, and instantly you begin feeling inflated after getting hives. Knowing that you are allergic to eggs, you make sure that your food is egg-free. Of course, you’re not allergic to the food you ordered, but you recognize the reactions that are identical to the ones you have when you eat an egg; you go to the kitchen and discover that your rice was prepared in the same pan as a previous order with egg in it. Can you imagine the problems this can cause?

Today I’m talking about food allergens. What are they? How do I know what kinds of foods I should be more careful about consuming? We will answer these and other questions below. So please join me in reading ahead!

In recent years, the prevalence of food allergies has aroused great interest. Around 2-4% of adults and 6% of children suffer from food allergies (Global STD, 2017). Although we know more than ever about the issues involved and the foods that cause them, food allergies remain complex and challenging.

What is an allergen?

Food allergens are compounds found the foods and are harmful to sensitive people. They are initially harmless substances that cause some consumers’ immune system reactions. In addition, some substances do not affect the immune system but may produce adverse reactions in some people. Accidental consumption of foods containing these compounds can lead to allergies and intolerances of varying severity to the point of being life-threatening in some cases. Allergens are the antigens that trigger allergies.

What are the primary food allergens?

According to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA, ing), many different foods can cause allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. Proteins are the most common component of food, causing allergies worldwide. Proteins are present in eight of the most common food groups and derived products.

Most food allergic reactions in the United States are related to:

1. Milk
2. Eggs
3. Fish (e.g., sea bass, flounder, salmon)
4. Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts,pecans)
5. Peanuts
6. Wheat
7. Soybeans

 

What are the main symptoms of an allergy?

The immune system protects the body from foreign proteins by generating a response to eliminate them. Allergy is essentially when the immune system "malfunctions" and perceives a normally harmless substance as if it were a threat (an allergen) and attacks it with the body's immune defenses. When there is an allergic reaction, the body produces antibodies (proteins that specifically bind to allergens to neutralize and eliminate them from the body). The antibody responsible for allergic reactions to food is immunoglobulin E (IgE), a protein or glycoprotein relatively resistant to digestion and cooking that binds to allergens, triggering an allergic reaction.

Adverse food reaction refers to any clinically abnormal response following ingestion, contact, or inhalation of a food or food additive contained therein—experts classify reactions as toxic and non-toxic. Toxic reactions are produced by toxins, microbial contaminants, or substances with pharmacological activity. They can appear in any individual who consumes the food, as long as the amount ingested is sufficiently high, since they do not depend on individual susceptibility. On the contrary, non-toxic or food hypersensitivity reactions only occur in susceptible individuals.

Food allergies caused by an adverse reaction of the immune system (hypersensitivity) to specific food proteins are classified according to their mechanism of immunity:

• Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated (immediate hypersensitivity);
• Non-IgE-mediated (cell-mediated or delayed hypersensitivity); and
• Mixed, IgE-mediated, and non-IgE-mediated.
• In IgE-mediated cases, symptoms usually occur within minutes and up to 1 to 2 hours after ingestion of the food. In non-IgE-mediated and mixed IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated food allergies, symptoms occur several hours after ingestion.
• Symptoms of IgE-mediated food allergy may include:
• Itching around the mouth
• Skin rashes, hives
• Lips, eyes, or face swelling
• Nausea, abdominal pain, bloating, vomiting, and diarrhea
• Breathing difficulties
• Tingling or itching sensation in the mouth
• It decreased blood pressure
• Dizziness or vertigo
• Coughing or wheezing
• In its most severe form is anaphylaxis and can cause death

Fortunately, most allergic reactions to food are relatively mild, although allergic reactions can be life-threatening on rare occasions. In addition, these symptoms are not always present or the same for every person or response and can vary depending on several factors, including the amount of food allergen ingested.

How to avoid the risk?

It is crucial to manage allergens effectively in your food business to ensure food is safe for customers with food allergies. In addition, to avoid cross-contamination in your kitchen, you must include allergen information when planning good food preparation and hygiene.

All establishments that sell unpackaged foods and beverages must inform consumers about any of the eight notifiable allergens listed under the Food Information Regulation in their products. To be compliant, you must either publish all allergen information on a menu, chalkboard or in an information pack or give a written notice explaining how your customers can obtain this information.

Food businesses need to avoid cross-contamination in food preparation to protect customers with food allergies. There are several actions you can take to prevent cross-contamination with allergens. These include:

• Clean utensils before each usage, mainly if used to prepare meals containing allergens
• Clean all the surfaces
• Wash hands thoroughly between preparing dishes with and without specific allergens.
• Store ingredients and foods separately in closed and labeled containers.
• Keep ingredients that contain allergens separate from other ones.
• Store food with allergens away from food allergen-free to prevent spillage.
• Prepare allergen-free food aside from food with allergens and with other utensils.
• Allergen cross-contamination can also happen by using the same cooking oil. For example, avoid using the same oil previously used for cooking battered fish to cook gluten-free chips.
• If you can’t avoid cross-contamination in food preparation, you should inform customers that you can’t provide an allergen-free dish.

One way to implement an allergen control system is through the HACCP plan (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) plans, which indicates the hazards that are present in the processes carried out in the restaurant and the appropriate measures required to take action in the kitchen.

If you want to elaborate a HACCP plan for your restaurant, do not hesitate to contact us! iQkitchen has multiple professionals who can help you to generate it and the necessary records so that the controls mentioned in the plan are fulfilled to the letter.

What happens if my final product causes an allergy?

Besides the possibility of making a customer seriously ill, you could also face the risk of financial and reputational damage to your food business if you fail to comply with allergen information requirements.

Local authorities enforce allergen information regulations. Failure to comply can result in action from the local authority. If you fail to act on advice given by the local authority, an improvement notice may be issued. If you do not meet the requirements of this notice, you will be issued a penalty.

In some cases, businesses may also face prosecution.

These cases can be avoided by following the points clarified in the previous part, in case there is a penalty, the inspector will let you know what needs to be changed.

At the end of the process, we recommend that you continue to implement and continuously evaluate the effectiveness of your allergen control process to avoid future problems, always following your HACCP plan and the indications given above.

Sarahi Lara, Food and Biotechnology Eng.

“Hazard Junior writer. I am in charge of elaborating HACCP plans for restaurants and government teams in the Hazard Analysis part. In addition, I have worked with other companies in the area of quality and food safety, supporting them in systems such as FSSC 22000 and the creation of HACCP plans and review of internal audits.”