Allergen Cross Contamination - aerolised proteins vs VOCs
We recently had an audit from a key customer who said that our thawing fish needed to be in a separate area, due to the allergen cross contamination potential (from the smell of the fish) however after doing some reading, apparently it is only the aerolised protein (usually given off during cooking / steaming) that can cause an allergic reaction and not the volatile oil compounds - how can one determine the difference (on a basic level - no testing involved) and to prove that there is no / little risk created by the "smell".
WOW You're customer sounds...................................delightful
Smell and allergens have zero correlation
Cross-contact happens when one food comes into contact with another food and their proteins mix
Allergen containing proteins are not aerosols
If allergen cross contact was caused by smells we wouldn't be able to received half our shipments the way we do at our seafood plant. Fish smells, nomrally moreso when it's starting to turn, but that smell is not an indicator of allergens present in the air.
Yes, the customer is challenging but they're the customer :spoton:
Can anyone tell me if there IS a risk of aerolised protein, when we boil / cook allergen containing ingredients (in particular, fish, celery, sulphites) in a prep kitchen, contaminating other ingredients that are stored in the same area? I really would like to find some scientific paper to be able to use as evidence. So far I've only found "housewife" blogs talking about allergen contamination (no disrespect intended).
... I really would like to find some scientific paper to be able to use as evidence. ...
This review is a little thin on the details regarding cooking risk, but might get you pointed in a useful direction.