Allergen Labeling Challenges

The Food Allergen Act also mandates that USDA will conduct ongoing plant audits of food processing facilities. These audits are meant to ensure adherence to the correct level of control around the storage, handling and usage of food allergens during production, as put in place by food processors, and to report back if these preventative business processes are operating effectively. Certainly, enterprise business systems help food processors pass such audits, by acting as a repository of current best practices for food processors, while providing a detailed historical audit trail of past processing compliance to food allergen and product labeling mandates, by individual inventory and production lot.

Based on the existing Food Allergen Act, for both enacted regulations and those mandates yet to come, it is obvious requirements for increased control, management, and disclosure of food allergens will continue to evolve. Regulators are already pointing to upcoming legislation regarding use of “gluten-free” labeling on foods. The development of guidelines is also already underway for the handling, preparation, and disclosure of allergen-free foods, beyond existing retail food product labeling and into food service organizations such as restaurants, bakeries, schools, etc. Such pending requirements mean an added level of upcoming control for food processors, as well as distributors, and other involved parties along the food product supply chain. Based on both current and future regulatory requirements around managing and disclosing the presence of food allergens for consumers, enterprise business applications will need to continue expanding functionality to support compliance with the Food Allergen Labeling Act by food processors and their related trading partners.

Beth Berndt is director of industry solutions for consumer products at Ross Systems. Reach her at 770-351-9600 or [email protected].