Revisão do atual programa de gestão de alergênicos em uma indústria de alimentos

Abstract

Food allergy has had a significant increase over the years, being a worrying factor because it is linked to public health. Allergy can be determined as an adverse food reaction, being divided into toxic, when a sufficient amount of the allergenic toxin is ingested, and non-toxic, which depend on the fragility of the individual and classified into food allergies and food intolerance. The main allergens are: eggs, cow's milk, fish, crustaceans, nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy. Symptoms can vary according to each individual, how he was subjected to food, among others. The most serious case is called anaphylaxis, which attacks the airways and if left untreated, can be fatal. There is no proper treatment, other than avoiding ingestion. For this purpose, RDC 26/2015 was adopted to ensure that consumers access all necessary information about the presence or absence of allergens and their derivatives. The legislation obliges suppliers of food, ingredients, food additives, among others in the food industry, to follow rules for labeling statements regarding the intentional presence of allergenic foods and their derivatives, such as the possibility of cross-contamination with allergenic foods and/or or its derivatives. There are some methods of detecting the presence of allergens, the most common are: ELISA method, PCR method, mass spectrometry method and SWAB. The control program is called PCAL (Allergen Control Program), it helps companies to adapt to the rules required by legislation. The objective of this work was to review the food management program in a food industry, applying the appropriate training, identifying the risks and taking preventive measures, verifying the labeling and finally validating the hygiene. During the process, some critical points were observed, where control measures were taken, such as staff guidance regarding cross-contamination and consumption of contaminating foods. After validation, negative results were obtained for soybean contamination, which would be the most critical allergen, thus obtaining a safety guarantee for the final consumer.