Allergen management plans for mixed production sites
The matrix, segregation, scheduling, changeovers and labels that keep undeclared allergens out of your products.
An allergen management plan starts with an allergen matrix of every ingredient and product. From it, you segregate allergens in storage and production, schedule allergen-free runs first, use validated changeover cleans between products, and check every label against the recipe. Precautionary statements come last, and only after a risk assessment such as the Allergen Bureau’s VITAL program.
The six parts of the plan
1. Allergen matrix
Every raw material and product against every allergen. Updated when a recipe, supplier or specification changes.
2. Supplier control
Allergen declarations from every supplier, and a rule that suppliers tell you before they change a formulation.
3. Segregation
Separate, labelled storage, and dedicated utensils or colour coding for allergen ingredients.
4. Scheduling
Allergen-free products first, then increasing allergen load, so fewer cleans are critical.
5. Changeover cleaning
A written clean between allergen and non-allergen runs, validated once and verified every time.
6. Label control
The right label on the right product, checked at the start of every run and after every label change.
Example allergen matrix
| Material | Milk | Egg | Wheat | Soy | Sesame |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheat flour | ✓ | ||||
| Butter | ✓ | ||||
| Sesame seed topping | ✓ | ||||
| Bread mix (supplier) | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Product: seeded loaf | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Illustrative only. Your matrix lists every allergen your products must declare under the Food Standards Code.
Validating and verifying changeover cleans
Validation proves your method works: run the clean, then test surfaces or the first product after it with an allergen-specific test, such as ELISA or a lateral flow kit for that allergen. Do it for each allergen and line, and repeat it when the product, equipment or method changes.
Verification proves it was done this time: a visual check and sign-off at every changeover, plus routine allergen tests on a schedule you set. Keep both. An auditor will ask for the validation study and the daily sign-offs.
Precautionary labelling: last, not first
“May contain” is not a substitute for controls. Many Australian manufacturers use the Allergen Bureau’s VITAL program, a voluntary risk assessment that uses reference doses to decide whether cross-contact justifies a precautionary statement. Where it does, VITAL uses one wording: “May be present: allergen”.
Mandatory allergen declarations follow the Food Standards Code and plain English allergen labelling. See the PEAL labelling checklist.
Allergen records that keep up with changes
In EthicalHub, supplier allergen declarations sit with each supplier’s certificates, changeover cleans are signed off on the floor, and a failed verification opens a corrective action. Every plan includes supplier management and corrective actions, from $69 a month per site.
See it with your own products
A free 20-minute walkthrough.
Allergen management: common questions
What is an allergen management plan?
What is an allergen matrix?
How do I validate an allergen changeover clean?
When can I use “may be present” labelling?
Every allergen, accounted for.
Declarations, changeovers and checks, recorded as you go.