Allergen Risk Assessment and Management
Building an allergen risk assessment
A robust assessment maps every ingredient and every process step to identify where the 14 allergens enter, cross-contaminate, or could be mislabelled. It should cover: supplier specifications and supplier verification; storage segregation; preparation and cooking; cleaning; packaging and labelling; and service. It must be specific to the menu and site, reviewed when recipes, suppliers or processes change, and signed and dated.
Key concepts
Understand hazard vs risk: an allergen present is a hazard; the likelihood and severity of exposure to a susceptible person is the risk. Use controls hierarchy: eliminate (remove the allergen), substitute (swap ingredient), segregate (separate area/equipment), and communicate (labelling, staff script). Document decision points such as whether to offer an allergen-free version, and the basis for any 'may contain' statement. Include verification (checks, audits, sampling) and review triggers.
Traps
- A risk assessment that only lists allergens in recipes but ignores shared fryers, grills, utensils and hands is incomplete.
- 'Vegan' does not mean allergen-free (e.g. nut milks, sesame).
- Removing an allergen from a dish does not remove cross-contamination risk unless segregation is controlled.
- Reviews must be triggered by change, not just annual.
Worked example
A kitchen introduces a new pesto containing pine nut and milk. The assessment must update the recipe, check supplier specs, review shared equipment (blender, boards), update labels and staff briefing, and set a verification check (e.g. spot-check the label and staff knowledge) before launch.