Allergens in the food industry
The 14 major allergens (including peanuts, nuts, milk, eggs, gluten, soy and shellfish) pose a serious risk to consumers with food allergies. Cross-contamination during production — via shared equipment, conveyor belts or inadequate cleaning — is one of the most common causes of allergen incidents.
BRC Issue 9 (clause 5.3), IFS Food and FSSC 22000 all require a documented allergen management programme with demonstrable verification of cleaning effectiveness after product changeovers.
The AllerGiene swab: ATP detection for allergen management
The AllerGiene swab from Charm Sciences was specifically developed for use in allergen management programmes. It uses the same ATP bioluminescence technology as the PocketSwab Plus, but is optimised for detecting allergenic food residues on surfaces.
Allergenic food residues contain ATP. A positive ATP measurement after cleaning indicates that biological material is still present — which may mean that allergenic residues have not been completely removed.
Recommended workflow for product changeovers
Clean according to SSOP
Clean all product contact surfaces according to the allergen-specific SSOP. Use the prescribed chemicals and contact times.
Visual inspection
Visually inspect all surfaces for visible residues. Re-clean if visible residues are present.
AllerGiene ATP test
Swab all defined measurement points with the AllerGiene swab. Measure on the novaLUM II-X. A PASS result is required before the next production run begins.
Documentation
Document all results in novaLINK 6. For FAIL: take corrective actions, re-clean and retest. Document all steps.