Gregerson, John. The Hartford Loss Control Department Technical Information Paper Series. Companies must review their products to determine whether it contains any of the known 160 allergens. International Tree Nut Council. ELISA tests can also be conducted.Keywords: allergens, labeling, equipment, sanitation, HACCP. Wet your hands with clean, running water and apply soap. Just another site when a food handler can effectively remove soil In 2017, the company was sued by shareholders for misconduct leading to the recall of its products and reached a $60 million settlement with them in 2020. A number of foods also contain allergenic proteins. What is microbiological contamination of food & how to control Safe Food Handler Practices and Conditions - Nebraska Minimizing the potential for recontamination, Adopting new technologies as soon as they are available, and, Implementing an environmental monitoring program for, Hand contact with contaminative surfaces, such as mucous, blood, soil, urine, or feces, Environmental disinfection/sanitation program, Restriction of tasks among employees to prevent cross contamination, Exclude dropped or damaged fruit from those that are designated for the production of unpasteurized juice or for the fresh or fresh-cut market, Locate orchards away from potential sources of contamination, such as pastures, Lack of specific GMP, sanitation standard operating procedures, and sanitation monitoring records, Ensuring conformance to GMP and sanitation procedures, An integrated pest management program that relies on inspection, monitoring, establishing action threshold levels, and implementing first non-chemical and then chemical measures, Nonvolatile nonrepellant insecticide formulations, Practices preventing post-processing contamination (not specified), Product testing is insufficient to indicate the mode of contamination, Establishment of a pathogen in a niche which is impossible to reach and clean with normal cleaning and sanitizing procedures, Environmental and equipment testing to detect niches, Inclusion of sampling sites that are good indicators of control, such as food contact surfaces, Weekly or more frequent sampling of the food processing environment, Improvements in equipment design to make cleaning more effective and to minimize breakdowns and repairs, Increased use of post-packaging pasteurization with irradiation, hot water, steam, and high pressure, Post-slaughter antimicrobial decontamination methods, including spray-washing, steam-vacuuming, steam pasteurization, warm water wash, trimming, lactic acid decontamination, Chilling and temperature control for finished product storage, Food contact surface contamination between the cooking and packaging steps, Environmental and contact surface testing to determine the effectiveness of cleaning and to identify potential sources of contamination, Alternating between alkaline and acid-based detergents to avoid soapstone or hard water buildups and formation of biofilms, Plant design to eliminate traffic flow between RTE and raw product areas, Use of dehumidifiers and drip pans in RTE areas, Smooth, sealed, and moisture-free ceilings and walls, Light fixtures that do not harbor dirt or moisture, Environmental testing of non-food contact surfaces, food contact surface testing, and product testing, Regular validation of test results by a third party, Transfer of sanitation duties from the third to second or first shifts and to better-trained employees, Use of ozone (instead of chlorine) as disinfectant, Adding too much of an approved ingredient, Leaching of toxic containers or pipelines due to acidic foods, Naturally (e.g., mycotoxins, allergens, and marine toxins), From intentionally added chemicals (e.g., preservatives, and nutritional and color additives), From unintentionally added chemicals (e.g., pesticides, veterinary drugs, toxic elements, and cleaning/sanitizing chemicals), Store chemicals separately from food and packaging materials, Thoroughly rinse cleaning agents and sanitizers from equipment, Pest control should be performed by professionals, Pest control residues in food should be controlled, Inventory should be kept of chemicals, colorings, and additives, Train employees adequately about chemical use, Temperature abuse of Scrombotoxin-susceptible fish, Certification of proper time and temperature handling on vessel, Rapid cooling of the product after cold-smoking process, Genetically-engineered, pest-resistant plants, Metal poisoning from food handling equipment and utensils due to corrosion, Indiscriminate spraying of facilities with pesticide, Improper storage or mistaken identity of pesticides, Adding too much of intentional food additives, Use equipment and utensils that do not corrode with citrus fruits, fruit drinks, fruit pie fillings, tomato products, sauerkraut, and carbonated beverages, Store and secure pesticides away from food products, Avoid indiscriminate application of pesticides, Use trained and certified personnel in application of pesticides, Avoid use of empty cleaning chemical containers for food storage, Properly train personnel about cleaning and sanitizing, Use only approved food grade lubricants and greases, Maintain chemicals in original containers, Keep inventory of chemicals in a secure, supervised area, Modification of product recipe without changing the label, Not cleaning machines properly between runs, Allergen contamination from products containing allergens run on same production line, Cross-contamination from maintenance tools, Inadequate cleaning between allergen-containing product run and nonallergen-containing product runs, A close working relationship with material suppliers, Longer run times that minimize changing products, Scheduling the allergen-containing product at the end of the run, Covering transport belts to prevent ingredients from falling, Color coding maintenance tools or specifying proper cleaning procedures, Verifying labels and packaging (e.g., with bar code scanners), Physical detachments or lockouts for equipment with high-contamination risk, Verification of cleaning between allergen and nonallergen runs, Omittance of raw ingredients that are potential allergens from label, Contamination of product by utilization of rework, Allergen and nonallergen runs were not scheduled or sequenced, Inadequate cleaning of lines (rinsing with water only or cleaning at end of day only), Scheduling production of allergen-containing products at the end of production runs, Equipment and system design considerations, Thorough cleaning of lines after running allergen-containing products, Training of employees in allergen control, Designate and label equipment for use with specific products, Run nonallergen-containing products before allergen-containing products, Produce allergen-containing products on a separate day than other products, Discarding old labels and packaging materials, Raw material contamination may be beyond a manufacturer's control, Separation of allergenic and nonallergenic products, with dedicated bins, scoops, and weighing buckets, Staging areas (putting all ingredients for a specific batch on a pallet before processing), Use of table with surface nicks that caused cross-contamination, Lack of dedicated lines or allergenic product scheduling at end of day, Lack of proper identification of materials, Obtain full ingredient list from suppliers, Investigate whether any allergenic processing aids/rework has been incorporated into the product, Investigate possible product carryover from common equipment, Replacement of non-functioning or non-characterizing allergens, Allergenic products should be run on dedicated lines or scheduled at end of day, Long run times for allergenic products to minimize product carryover.