Navigating food safety involves more than just following a checklist. While standard procedures protect most people, there are biological complexities - like cross-reactivity - that are impossible to control via conventional processes. This guide recaps the basics of allergens and then examines a more challenging element that is an emerging concern for food businesses.

What are allergens?

Allergens are proteins found in certain foods that cause the immune system to overreact. For most people, these proteins are harmless. However, for someone with a food allergy, the body identifies the protein as a threat and releases chemicals like histamine to "fight" it. This results in an allergic reaction, which can range from mild itching or hives to life-threatening anaphylaxis.

What are the 14 listed allergens?

In the UK, food law identifies 14 specific allergens that must be clearly highlighted on food labels or menus:

1. Cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley, oats)
2. Crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs, lobsters)
3. Eggs
4. Fish
5. Peanuts
6. Soybeans
7. Milk
8. Nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, brazils, pistachios, macadamias)
9. Celery
10. Mustard
11. Sesame seeds
12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites
13. Lupin
14. Molluscs (such as mussels, whelks, oysters, snails)

Important Note: These lists are not universal. Outside the UK, listed allergens may differ: for example, there are only 9 listed allergens in America. People with allergies need to be aware when travelling or reading labels from imported foods, as a normally "safe" product abroad may contain ingredients not highlighted as allergens.

How do food businesses manage allergens

As a minimum, food businesses are required to give customers information about the presence of the 14 listed allergens within their foods. The method of communicating these allergens depends on the type of business, how the customer places an order and the way the food is served to the customer.

In order to provide clarity for allergy sufferers, food businesses should have some form of allergy policy that states their position on allergen management. Some employ systems and processes that allow them to offer food that is safe for allergy sufferers. In order to achieve this, they typically employ strict Allergen Management Systems, including:

• Separation: Storing allergenic ingredients away from non-allergenic ones.
• Cleaning: Using dedicated equipment or deep-cleaning surfaces between tasks.
• Preparation: Preparing dishes in a way that ensures allergens cannot enter food prepared for a customer with an allergy
• Labelling: Ensuring menus and packaging clearly state the presence of any of the 14 allergens.
• Training: Ensuring staff understand the risks of cross-contamination.

What are cross-reactive foods?

Cross-reactivity occurs when the body reacts to a food because its proteins are biologically similar to something else the person is already allergic to. The body "mistakes" one protein for another. This is not a labelling error or a case of cross-contamination; it is a biological reaction to a correctly prepared ingredient.

Common patterns of cross-reactivity include:

• Pollen allergies: Reactions to apples, pears, peaches, cherries, carrots, or hazelnuts.
• Peanut allergy: Reactions to other legumes like lentils, chickpeas, and peas.
• Tree nuts: Links between specific pairs, such as cashew and pistachio, or walnut and pecan.
• Latex allergy: Reactions to banana, avocado, kiwi, and chestnut.
• Peanut / legume allergy: May react to lupin, increasingly used as a high protein alternative to wheat flout
• Cashew and pistashio nuts: pink peppercorns

Want to know more about specific cross-reactive foods? Food Allergy Aware have a great factsheet with more information and lots more support for people with allergies.

What are the challenges of cross-reactive foods?

The biggest challenge is that cross-reactivity sits outside the standard system. A dish can be 100% compliant with the law, correctly prepared, and accurately described, yet still cause a reaction.

Because cross-reactivity varies significantly between individuals, it cannot be reliably predicted by a food business catering for a general population. Even when a business does everything right, a risk may still exist. This means safe practice is not just about following rules, but about recognising the limits of the system.

How can food businesses manage cross-reactive foods?

While you cannot eliminate the biological risk of cross-reactivity, you can manage it through better information and consistency. In a food business that operates a strict allergen management process, a lot of the bases will already be covered, but these are the key steps to look out for:

• Communication: Provide customers with access to information about all ingredients in your food, not just the 14 listed allergens. If a customer mentions a legume allergy, they may need to know if a dish contains chickpeas, even though chickpeas are not on the official UK list of 14.
• Recipe Adherence: It is vital that chefs stick precisely to published recipes. Substituting one ingredient for a similar one (e.g. using peas instead of beans) could trigger a cross-reactive response in a customer.
• Supplier Monitoring: Take note of any changes in the ingredients of bought-in or processed foods. If a supplier changes their recipe, your published allergen and ingredient information must be updated immediately to reflect this.

By being transparent and consistent, food businesses can help customers make informed and confident choices about their own specific sensitivities.

Want to get allergy management right in your food business? The Safer Food Group offers two training courses - Level 2 Allergy Awareness is perfect for food handlers as it explains the basic science of allergies and intolerances and looks at the practical, everyday steps required to produce safe food. Level 3 Allergy Management takes a deeper dive into the science and helps the food business leader risk assess, create and implement a comprehensive allergy process.