Sulphites In Food Manufacturing Plant
Hi All,
I work in a wholesale bakery with an efficient allergen control program in place. We are adding a new product to our inventory and one of the new ingredients contains sulphites in less than 10 ppm per serving (by calculation). We currently don't use sulphites in the plant so we don't treat sulphites as an allergen. My question is do i have to revise the current allergen program to include sulphites even though its going to be much less than 10 ppm per product serving?
I'm aware it may be a silly question but i don't want to re-do posters signage etc. unless i absolutely have to. It would be easier to pay triple the amount for an non SO2 laden product as this proposed product is seasonal. But if i have to i will.
Regards & thanks always.
Can't you just write up a risk assessment with the calculations showing that the final product will have less than 0.x ppm of sulfites?
My first thoughts would be that just having the sulfites in the plant now would trigger a re-eval of the allergen control program. I've always been trained that just adding them to any step of the process in any amounts triggers a food safety team meeting and new allergen hazard analysis (risk assessment). That would be where I would write up my risk assessment and show all final product has below the recall threshold of 10ppm (you said MUCH less so I'm guessing it's not even close). Once you do that though, I am betting your customers or third party auditors will want some type of analysis done on a schedule to verify you stay below that recall threshold.
I personally would take a long hard look at how much it would cost to use the non-sulfite ingredient. If you end up going the risk assessment route, and have to verify with scheduled testing you stay under declarable levels, is it really going to save money?
The CFIA recommends that food companies establish effective allergen controls to minimize the potential for allergic reactions. Enhanced labelling requirements for food allergen, gluten sources and sulphites came into force on August 4, 2012.Jul 13, 2018
http://www.inspectio...6/1332442980290
You need to ensure your operating within the law and the law says it's an allergen.
Unfortunately the addition of an ingredient containing makes it an allergen risk regardless of the maximum allowable level. People have varying degrees of sensitivity. I'm afraid you'll have to review at the very least.
That much clearer guys thanks. Looks like ill be re-evaluating the program.
In a general sense this change would logically activate the HACCP Verification mode.
But if the Allergen Program is a Prerequisite ? Hmm.
If you're using the sulphite for anti-browning, there are alternatives available that don't require this level of control.....
Safe alternatives to sulfites have been developed. The family of erythorbates, erythorbic acid and sodium erythorbate, are stereoisomers of the ascorbates and function in a similar manner as antioxidants. These compounds are reducing agents and are preferentially oxidized in foods, thus preventing or minimizing oxidative flavor and color deterioration. Erythorbates can prevent enzymatic browning in many products such as fruits, vegetables, and beverages. Enzymatic browning also occurs in crustaceans and results in the formation of dark pigments, a defect called blackspot. EverFresh (4 hexylresorcinol), unlike sulfites, inhibits polyphenoloxidase present in and under the shell of shrimp, thus preventing the formation of blackspot.