Australian Food

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Australian Food Grocery Council Industry
Allergen Forum Issues, Opportunities the Way
Forward July 2005 Fiona Fleming Allergen Forum
Chair
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WHERE HAVE WE COME FROM??
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Where did the Industry Allergen Forum Come from??

• Feb 2004
• Food Allergens, Issues and Solutions for the Food
  Product Manufacturer

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Workshop Outcomes Allergen Issues Identified

• Information, Awareness, Communication, Education
• Threshold limits
• Labelling Consistency
• Uniform Supplier Questionnaire
• Review of FSANZ Standard
• Risk Analysis
• Benchmarking

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Lead to the AFGC Allergen Forum
AFGC ad hoc Working Group in partnership with
the Australian Food Safety Centre of
Excellence March 2004
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Issues consolidated into Projects

• Allergen Bureau
• Benchmarking
• Testing Thresholds
• Risk Assessment
• Supplier Questionnaire
• Labelling
• AFGC Allergen Guide

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WHAT HAVE WE BEEN UP TO?
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FOOD ALLERGEN RESOURCE BUREAUManager Lyn
Davies
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Objective

• Develop a comprehensive information resource
  bureau of food allergen and allergen risk
  management knowledge in Australasia for the food
  industry

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The Allergen Bureau

• Contact via
• Website
• Freephone
• Email helpdesk
• Quarterly eNews updates
• Industry Workshop early 2006
• Support for Allergen Forum projects

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Allergen Bureau WebsiteRegistrations to date
June 2005
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Allergen Bureau WebsiteGuest hits per month
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Thanks to the following Foundation Member
Companies
Thanks to the following Member Companies
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Allergen Bureau Contacts

• Manager Lyn Davies
• Website
• www.allergenbureau.net
• Freephone
• 1800 236 829 (Aust)
• 0800 263 829 (NZ)
• Email helpdesk
• info_at_allergenbureau.net

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Benchmarking

• Philip Corbet
• Define measures for the food industry
• Due to Report Aug 05

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Information

• Allergen Related Product Recalls
• Consumer Information Centre contacts

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Allergen Recalls - trends

• Recalls appear to have tapered off
• major cause label (in)accuracy
• Other food ingredients of concern (lupin)
• Seafood is not showing as an issue

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CONSUMER CONCERNS(ONE FMCG COMPANY
EXAMPLE)Where should efforts possibly be
concentrated?

• Different allergens have different concerns
• Gluten queries vastly outweigh others (84)
• Peanut is well known and recognised (7.7)
• Several allergens appear to cause no concern
  probably due to less use

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NEXT STEPS

• Consolidate data from manufacturers to provide
  depth to the statistics
• Extend the data capture to
• analysts
• anaphylaxis groups
• Coordinate analysis of data with the Allergen
  Bureau

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Testing Thresholds

• Adrian Sharpe
• Review of allergen testing kits
• Due to Report August 05

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Testing Thresholds

• Determine the range of test kits available
• Develop a guide for use of kits
• Establish a register of known false
  positives/false negatives for each kit
• Provide advice to regulatory bodies

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Approach

• Step 1 Collect existing test result data from
  industry and certain laboratories
• Step 2 Consolidate data
• Step 3 Data analyzed and reviewed by Testing
  Thresholds Working Group
• Step 4 Feed back summary findings to Allergen
  Forum to establish next step.

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Activity Next Steps

• Final Stage 1 Group meeting in late July
• Presentation of data summary
• Stage 2 planned based on Stage 1 outcomes

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Risk Assessment Protocol

• Fiona Fleming
• Development of a standardised allergen risk
  assessment tool which can be used to assist in
  determining appropriate voluntary allergen
  labelling statements
• Due to Report Nov 05

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Activity

• Step 1 Review of current Risk Assessment
  Protocols food and non food
• Step 2 Development and trial of Allergen Risk
  Assessment Protocol
• Determine feasibility of establishing allergen
  thresholds
• Step 3 Analysis and Review
• Step 4 Link into Labeling team
• Stage 5 Incorporation in AFGC Guide

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Next Steps

• Finalise threshold data review
• (pending release of USFDA report)
• Finalise procedure
• Pilot protocol training review

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Standardised Supplier Allergen Questionnaire

• Patricia Verhoeven
• Acceptable to food companies and their suppliers
• Elicits information consistent with regulatory
  and consumer information requirements
• Due to Report August 05

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Activity

• Stakeholders engaged
• Survey of 368 food business
• Collation and analysis of survey results complete
  April 2005
• Modular framework agreed
• Uniform Supplier Questionnaire currently in
  drafting stage.

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Next Steps

• Finalise drafting of questionnaire
• Seek feedback on draft questionnaire
• Pilot questionnaire within food industry

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Labelling

• Kirsten Grinter
• Development of a consistent allergen labelling
  process
• Due to report Feb 06

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Labelling - Current Status Review

• Review of allergen labelling
• Review of FSANZ Quantitative Consumer Survey -
  Allergen Labelling (benchmark 03)
• Review of Food allergies and consumer
  requirements, AAInc
• Review of Company allergen policies and procedures

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Labelling - Allergen Workshop

• Extensive supermarket category review (approx 350
  products)
• Survey data collected
• Ingredient list declaration
• Allergen claims
• Summary statements
• Cross contact statements

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Labelling - Allergen Workshop

• Ingredients qualified with allergen source?
• Plain English declaration?
• Bold?
• Colour? Font? Upper/Lower Case?
• Allergen summary statement or not? Location?
• Cross contact statement and location on label?
• Statement accuracy?

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Discussion Recommendations

• Allergen labelling issues and positives
  identified
• Options to recommend a consistent industry
  approach
• Where will the information be located?
• Food Standards Code?
• FSANZ Allergen Labelling User Guide?
• AFGC Allergen Management Labelling Guide?

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Labelling - Next Steps

• Recommend an industry allergen labelling
  declaration and format
• Liaise with Risk Assessment group
• Recommendation regarding any variation to the
  Food Standards Code
• AFGC Allergen Management Labelling Guide

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AFGC Allergen Guide

• Kim Leighton
• Revision of the AFGC Food Industry Guide to
  Allergen Management and Labelling
• Start Nov 05

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Issues

• Support/input from
• Industry
• Stakeholders
• Regulators
• Reaching consensus!!!
• Communication of project outcomes
• Implementation acceptance

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Allergen Forum Members

• Fiona Fleming (Chair) George Weston Foods Ltd
• Kirsten Grinter Goodman Fielder
• Kim Leighton AFGC
• Kevin Norman Peanut Company of Australia
• Tom Lewis Food Safety Centre of Excellence
• Phillip Corbet Simplot
• Adrian Sharpe Kerry Ingredients
• Patricia Verhoeven - Cerebos
• Bev Cumming Goodman Fielder (NZ)
• Robyn Banks - Nestle
• Julie Newlands - Unilever
• Jenni Cooper - Heinz
• Jo Jeffery General Mills

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Stakeholders

• FSANZ
• Allergy Groups AAI Inc
• Clinicians
• NSW Food Authority
• Laboratories
• Food Industry

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Contacts

• Allergen Forum Chair
• Fiona Fleming
• Allergen Bureau
• Project Leaders
• Food Safety Centre Tom Lewis
• AFGC Kim Leighton
• NZ Bev Cumming