Risk management of gluten in the food industry

Glavni cilj ovog rada je istražiti tehnike procjene rizika vezano prvenstveno uz upravljanje sigurnošću hranom i njenom kvalitetom. Proizvođači trenutno na različite načine upravljaju rizikom od alergena jer ne postoji usvojen zajednički pristup, ni za upravljanje rizikom niti za zaštitu hrane od namjernih kontaminacija. U ovom radu je provedeno istraživanje na području upravljanja rizicima, istražene su tehnike koje se mogu koristiti za procjenu rizika te međunarodnih i nacionalnih propisa na području alergena. Predložen je sustav upravljanja rizikom od glutena u proizvodnji bezglutenskih praškova za prehrambene kreme te je izrađen sustav procjene i strategije za smanjenje rizika vezano uz zaštitu hrane od namjerne kontaminacije. Prisutnost glutena praćena je kroz sve faze proizvodnje u proizvodima kod kojih je i proizvodima kod kojih nije deklarirana mogućnost kontaminacije. U odabranim prostorima pogona vezanim za proizvodnju je provedena validacija atmosfere na gluten. Za analitičko praćenje glutena primijenjeni su kvalitativni testovi 3D Rapid Gluten i imunoenzimatska metoda ELISA. Dobiveni rezultati pokazali su: prisutnost glutena unutar dopuštene granice u ispitivanim proizvodima (s jednim izuzetkom), u atmosferi proizvodnog i skladišnog prostora zabilježena je najveća kontaminacija glutenom kod usipa brašna, te je u pogonu utvrđena mogućnost križne kontaminacije radnom odjećom djelatnika. Nakon provedene procjene rizika zaključeno je da je donesena opravdana odluka deklariranja radi predostrožnosti s ciljem osiguranja sigurnosti proizvoda. Rezultati ukazuju da je za sigurnu proizvodnju bezglutenskih praškova za prehrambene kreme u konkretnom slučaju potrebno poduzimanje rekonstrukcija u proizvodnji i potpuno fizičko odvajanje bezglutenske od glutenske proizvodnje.The main purpose of this paper is to explore risk assessment techniques primarily related to food safety and quality management. Manufacturers currently control the risk of allergens in a variety of ways because there is no common approach to risk management or food defence from intentional food contamination. In this paper, risk management research has been conducted, techniques that can be used to assess risks, international and national regulations in the field of allergies have been explored. Risk Management System for gluten-free production of powder nutritional creams has been proposed, an assessment system and a risk reduction strategy for the food defence from deliberate contamination have been developed. The presence of gluten is monitored through all phases of production in products where the possible traces of gluten have been declared as well as in products where the possibility of contamination has not been declared. Validation of the gluten atmosphere was carried out in the selected production premises. For gluten analytical testing, the qualitative 3D Rapid Gluten and Immunoenzymatic ELISA assays were applied. The results showed: the presence of gluten within permissible limits in the tested product (with one exception), under production and storage area recorded the highest contamination with gluten are in the siphoning the flour from bags, and the possibility of cross-contamination of the working clothes of workers has been established. After the risk assessment was carried out, it was concluded that a reasonable decision of declarations was made in order to ensure the safety of the product. The results indicate that for the safe production of gluten-free powder nutritional creams, in this case, are required reconstruction in production and complete physical separation of gluten-free gluten production