The Mahtab Says

Food Allergies in Food Science: Allergen Risk Management, Cross Contact Control, Labeling, Testing and Consumer Safety Food allergies are not only a medical concern. In food science, they are a serious food safety, regulatory, manufacturing, labeling and consumer protection issue. A food product may pass routine quality checks, meet normal sensory standards, appear clean and still become unsafe if an allergen is undeclared or unintentionally transferred into the product. For food technologists, QA officers, food safety inspectors, laboratory staff, food manufacturers and students, allergen management is one of the clearest examples of how science, law, processing, documentation and consumer safety come together in real food industry practice. A strong allergen control system protects allergic consumers by managing raw materials, formulation, storage, processing, cleaning, packaging, labeling, testing, traceability and recall readiness. The key message is simple: Food allergen control i...

 Gluten Related Disorders: Wheat Allergy, Celiac Disease, and Gluten Sensitivity Gluten is one of the most discussed food components in modern food science, nutrition, labelling, and food safety. Yet, it is also one of the most misunderstood. Many people use the terms wheat allergy , celiac disease , and gluten sensitivity as if they mean the same thing. Technically, they are different conditions with different biological mechanisms, different health risks, different diagnostic approaches, and different implications for food labelling and food manufacturing. For the food industry, this topic is not only about nutrition awareness. It is about consumer safety, allergen control, regulatory compliance, product claims, supplier verification, cleaning validation, testing strategy, and trust. A gluten free claim, a wheat allergen declaration, or an undeclared gluten source can directly affect vulnerable consumers. The infographic concept developed for this topic rightly separates wheat ...

  Allergen Declaration in Food Labelling Food allergen declaration is one of the most critical parts of food labelling. It is not only a legal requirement. It is a public health protection tool. A single undeclared allergen can cause serious illness, emergency hospitalization, product recall, legal action, and loss of consumer trust. For a food technologist, allergen declaration should never be treated as a small label statement written at the end of product development. It must be controlled from raw material approval to formulation, processing, cleaning, packaging, label review, and final product release. In modern food safety systems, allergen management is linked with HACCP, supplier approval, traceability, sanitation validation, change control, packaging control, product release, complaint handling, and recall readiness. Codex defines an allergenic food as a food, ingredient, additive, or processing aid that can cause IgE mediated or other specific immune mediated reaction...