More Information on Food Processing Industry Terms

Food processing is a convoluted industry.  Manufacturers use a variety of methods, raw ingredient suppliers, & processing conditions to create their end product.  Standards & ingredients change from country to country.  The final product may go through many hands & processes before the product is completed for sale; be processed in one facility but packaged in another; go through several different plants before completion; or made or packaged in different plants during different times of the year.

Raw ingredient suppliers may grow &/or process multiple ingredients in the same facility on the same machines, introducing the potential for cross contact.  Manufacturers select ingredients based on their primary goal (e.g. price, quality, availability, or purity) & often obtain raw ingredients from multiple sources.  Whether the raw ingredients is selected for allergen purity or based on allergen testing is the manufacturer’s independent decision.

Every company uses current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP or GMP), established by the Food & Drug Administration.  GMP, the minimum sanitary & processing requirements established prior to actual production, ensures the safety & integrity of food, reducing the potential for allergens accidentally getting into foods during production (e.g. by cross contact using shared lines or equipment).   Companies can implement Hazards & Critical Analysis Control Points (HACCP).  HAACP is a voluntary program a company devises to identify & prevent potential hazards of food safety during the actual manufacturing process, & implement procedures should a hazard occur.  GMP is the minimal standard for food safety; an effective HACCP program is the gold standard in the industry. Not all manufacturers have a HACCP program in place.

“Dedicated plants” attempt to minimize the risk of cross contact with potential allergens by not permitting open sources of that raw ingredient or derivative in the plant.  The decision to select raw ingredients on the basis of purity or test for the presence of food allergens in the final product is up to the individual.  The term “dedicated lines” only means that specific production line is limited to certain products & ingredients.  There is no industry rule about others lines potentially running simultaneously with same allergens, which could raise the risk level for potential cross contact. This again is an individual company decision.

While Allergy Grocer attempts to locate companies using dedicated plants & lines, “shared lines” are more common in the food industry. Large companies stay profitable by producing huge volumes of multiple different products at one time.  Typically multiple products are made, one after another, on the same production line (known as “shared lines”) or on multiple, different lines simultaneously in the same portion of the plant.  To minimize potential cross contact risks, an “ascending line of production” can be used.  Ascending lines of production starts by making food with the least allergenic ingredients first & progressing to the food with the most allergenic ingredients last, with a thorough, extensive washing of all equipment before beginning production again.  Once again, companies independently make the decisions to use ascending lines of production.

Companies may or may not or have allergen policies & HACCP procedures in place; large companies typically do.  In fact a large company using shared lines, HACCP & allergen procedures may in fact be a SMALLER risk than a small company using dedicated lines.  Even with GMP & excellent HACCP food recalls still occur. 

“May contain” statements can be confusing.  How & when these allergen advisory food labeling statements are used are currently at the manufacturer’s discretion; currently there are no established requirements or guidelines for the use of on packages.   They are designed to alert customers of potential cross contact from allergens used in the same plant.  Since there is no regulation how & when to use them, it can increase customer confusion & their avoidance of a potentially safe product. 

Even with the best cGMP, HACCP, dedicated plant, carefully sourced ingredients, & routine allergen testing, no manufacturer can completely guarantee “NO risk” or 100% “Free of” status.  It is neither practical nor good policy.  Given the complexity of the food industry, companies cannot control every portion of the food chain (from plant to packaging), even with careful sourcing of ingredients.  And even if every ingredient & finished product was tested for allergens, there are still limitations to the sensitivity & accuracy of allergen testing.