Do You Understand How to Prevent Cross-Contamination?
Do you have any allergies? Most allergies are mild, but some can be more serious or even life-threatening. One of the most common ways for an allergy to affect an individual is through what they eat. Common foods which can cause allergies will include dairy products, such as eggs and milk. Seafood, nuts and wheat are also sometimes a problem. At other times, the allergy could be caused by pesticide residue. When you have allergies, it is always wise to note the ingredients list on any product you buy. However, sometimes not everything will be listed on the label. Contamination is also a real danger for people with serious allergies. Allergies can affect any part of the body. Sometimes, they might cause a minor rash. At other times they can adversely affect an individual's respiratory system, making it difficult to breathe.
Getting food processing right
Anyone who has worked in food processing knows that great care must be taken to ensure that only the intended ingredients make it into your product. Even the smallest trace of a foreign ingredient could harm someone with a serious allergy. Contamination with a potential allergen can occur at any stage of food production. If you work in a processing plant, you must obtain confirmation from the growers and every other company that has handled the product that the ingredient has been kept free from contamination.
Maintaining safe production
Once you know that the ingredients arriving at your site are safe, you must maintain that safety at every stage of the processing. Cross-contamination with allergy-causing ingredients can be a particular problem on production lines used for multiple products. If you run a food processing plant, you must carry out regular allergen testing to check that there is no potential for cross-contamination. Check not only the final product but also every part of the production equipment. Everything must be thoroughly cleaned between production runs. Performing allergen testing on both the product and the equipment is the best way to ensure that everything is as it should be.
Buying allergen testing kits
If you want to know whether contamination has occurred, the most effective solution is to purchase allergen testing kits. You can use the kits to trace potential contamination and stop potential claims against your company by customers or other individuals harmed through allergies caused by contamination on your site. An allergen testing kit will identify allergen residues, so they can be removed before they cause a problem.
