Cross-Contact: Allergen Prevention.
As a certified food safety manager, your head is swimming with food safety concepts. All you want to do is prepare safe, good tasting food. The terms make a difference, however, in how you operate. This blog posting discusses cross-contact, allergen prevention.
Separation: All three terms concern separation to avoid contamination. In the case of cross-contamination, the objective is to separate sources of contamination (unwashed produce, raw animal foods) from ready to eat foods. This is done through separate preparation areas, cleaning and sanitizing, and thorough hand washing between jobs. Cross connection is a process to
Cross-Contact – Cross-contact refers to the transfer of an allergen protein from an allergenic food to a non-allergenic one. This might occur preparing a recipe, in storage or through environmental contamination.
Let’s begin with an important concept: separation. An efficient food safety operation thrives on the concept, using separate equipment, locations, times and processes to restrict the movement of contamination through the flow of food.
A food container, utensils or preparation surface used for wheat flour might be wiped with a cloth and not cleaned and sanitized before making a salad. Cooking oil used to prepare shrimp might be used again for cooking chicken. An appetizer might have a dipping sauce with soy milk or cheese. An employee wiping flour off his or her hands and preparing a salad will contaminate the air stream, and the food, with wheat allergens. Since flour is not a TCS (temperature control for safety) food, wiping the flour off on an apron might seem reasonable. Hand washing is the only way to avoid cross-contact to another recipe.
The dangers of allowing cross-contact to occur are very significant. While food service laws only regulate nine allergens, it is important to keep track of your customer’s needs. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states there are 160 known allergens. The law does not state allowable allergen limits; a brief contact with an allergen ingredient might still cause an adverse reaction (a shrimp is placed on a plate in error and removed). One drop of soy sauce, skin contact with a salmon filet may still cause a reaction. The author observed a food safety operator who rubbed her cheek with a salmon filet and left a red streak. Just as with bacterial contamination of food, a customer’s reaction will depend on their susceptibility. It can occur
While food safety operators are only required to consider nine allergens (milk, fish, crustacean shellfish, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame), there may be others to consider, depending on the type of food. Mustard, celery, lupin, spice and flavorings can all cause allergic reactions. The FDA has identified gluten and color additives.
It is also important to consider language barriers, perhaps including a warning sentence in different languages. One possible allergy warning: ‘Please be advised that food prepared here may contain these ingredients: milk, eggs, wheat, soybeans, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish. Ask your server for advice selecting your menu items’.
Avoiding Cross-Contact
1) Train food handlers about the risks of cross contact and how to prevent it; Post graphic reminders throughout the production area;
2) Use separate utensils and equipment for preparing and cooking;
3) Label food containers – it’s always a good practice to avoid confusion;
4) Keep allergen-free and an allergen-containing food separate, in production and storage. Post a graphic reminder
5) Clean and sanitize all areas and wash hands between jobs
Purchasing and Receiving: Separate allergen from non-allergen ingredients using separate shopping bags. Separate seafood from produce, for instance. If you receive deliveries from a supplier at your facility, discuss how cross-contact will be minimized on the delivery vehicle. Check your purchase orders closely with your deliveries to be sure the supplier has not substituted allergen ingredients. Be sure your supplies come from a licensed, approved source; require letters of guarantee and check the supplier’s license. In the past, the FDA has recalled cumin, suspecting it was contaminated with peanut filler.
Storage: Label all containers, especially if they contain allergens. Store allergen containers separately.
Preparation: Just as with cross-contamination, prepare allergen ingredient foods separately, using separate equipment, and a separate location. Where this separation is impossible, have a clearly written standard operating procedure so that cleaning and sanitizing, and hand washing, occur between recipes.
Sources:
Katrin Liivat What is Cross Contact? 4 Examples and How to Avoid Cross Contact Food Docs 02/18/2025
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
https://www.aaaai.org/tools-for-the-public/conditions-library/allergies/can-spices-cause-allergic-reactions