Best Practices for Assessing, Managing, and Communicating Food Allergen Risks: An Introduction

The public health issues associated with food allergens can only be tackled by taking an integrative approach that involves all sectors of the food industry and engages all who are involved in the manufacture, preparation, and service of foods. Significant advances have been made over the past two decades in our understanding of food allergens and in the development of control measures to minimize the public health risks associated with them (e.g., issuance of allergen labeling regulations, development of guidelines for managing allergens in food production and foodservice operations, and establishment of policies in communities and schools to manage food allergies). However, broad and successful implementation of allergen controls has yet to be achieved. Many gaps still exist, including the lack of hazard analysis and risk management approaches tailored to the needs of specific types of operations, absence of detailed documentation on best practices, insufficient dissemination of available information and resources to stakeholders, and shortage of tools and programs to train staff. This book is designed to address many of these gaps by highlighting best practices for the assessment, management, and communication of food allergen risks at various stages of the food chain, including manufacture of packaged food, serving meals in restaurants and other foodservice establishments, and preparation of food at home. The information presented also provides valuable resources for stakeholders to develop structured, risk-based training programs. This chapter provides an overview of current efforts to address public health issues associated with food allergens and the challenges that remain.