Learn about the 9 major food allergens & how you can develop & maintain an allergen management system within your food manufacturing facility. Register today.
Food allergens are considered an important hazard that need to be controlled during food and beverage manufacturing. While more than 160 foods can cause allergenic reactions in people with food allergies, 90% of food allergenic reactions come from just nine allergens. To avoid health risks posed by food allergens, food manufacturers must implement control strategies to avoid cross contact of allergenic foods with foods that don’t contain that allergen and product mislabeling.
Note: The course contains knowledge checks and a score of 70% or higher must be earned on each knowledge check to successfully pass the course.
Who Should Attend the Food Allergen Training
This course is for food production employees, managers, supervisors, and employees responsible for overseeing and implementing food safety systems.
Course Length: 5 hours
Start and End Times: Flexible
Format: Self-Paced
What You Will Learn in this Food Allergens Training
During this five-hour asynchronous Food Allergens Training course, you will learn about:
- Basics of food microbiology and the major groups of concern for food production.
- Governmental microbial requirements from the USDA, FDA, and Georgia Department of Agriculture.
- Methods to identify microbial hazards and create control plans.
- Developing written microbial control procedures and an environmental monitoring program.
- Testing and validation processes to ensure sustained control and prevention of microbial cross-contamination through your program.
This course consists of the following six modules:
Module 1: Controlling Food Allergens in Manufacturing
During this first module, you will gain a better understanding of the different types of food allergens. You will learn about the reactions to food allergies and how to compare food allergies to food sensitivities and intolerances. During the module, you will hear about allergic reactions, current therapies, and innovative prevention methods.
Module 2: FDA Allergen Labeling Requirements
In this section, you will hear about the top 9 food allergens and be introduced to a 9th major food allergen. You will learn what the DFS defines as tree nuts, which is one of the 9 major food allergens. You will hear about the FDA Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, who is required to label food allergens and when you must declare those allergens on a food label. We will discuss mislabeling and the different requirements of various countries.
Module 3: Why is Allergen Management in the Food Industry Important?
Allergen management helps identify and control allergens, from the incoming ingredients to the final packaged product in food processing facilities. This is critical to food safety and the protection of customers. During this module, you will learn why allergen management in the food industry is important, the dangers of hidden allergens in food, what is allergen cross contact, and the direct and indirect costs of a recall due to mislabeling or undeclared food allergens.
Module 4: Allergen Control Program
During module four, you will learn how to develop an effective Allergen Control Plan, how to conduct an allergen risk assessment, and assemble a team. you will also learn how your allergen control plan fits in to your food safety / HACCP plan.
Module 5: Validation and Verification
During module five, you will learn the difference between validation and verification when it comes to food allergens. For validation, you will learn to assess if the plan, when implemented, can control the identified hazards. For verification, you will learn to determine if the controls in place are being implemented in a way to manage the hazard.
Module 6: Monitoring and Corrective Actions
In the last module of the Food Allergens Training, you will discover the different types of monitoring records including receiving inspection records, inventory control records, sanitation verification records, and more. You will also review examples of corrective actions for Allergen Control Program violations, including spill clean-up procedures. Finally, you will learn how often and how to review your Allergen Control Program.
