Mar 28th, 2022
2 mins
The Government Chemist team have collaborated with experts to develop quantitative risk assessment (QRA) guidance for food allergens.
An electronic workshop in October 2020 had identified that a summary of current best in class guidance, identified gaps, potential improvements & harmonization of allergen QRA arising largely from cross contact would be very beneficial.
QRA of cross contamination by food allergens brings sharper focus to decision making in the subsequent risk management. This includes the interpretation of analytical findings, handling of potential food recalls and the management of precautionary allergen labelling.
Areas of focus include proactive assessments for food production under normal conditions, both in the upstream supply chain and in food production facilities, and reactive assessments as part of an allergen incident response. The paper also offers insights into more detailed guidance for allergen QRA that will be published later in the year.
The paper is currently available as a pre-print.
