Recently Allergen Accreditation was commissioned to assess a kitchen’s management on their cross-contact controls and the main thrust of the audit was to undertake a probabilistic risk assessment. The assessment went well with some minor equipment relocations and introducing smart measures and training and the main outcome was to draft a policy for the business to review, adapt and adopt.
All other cereals containing gluten were tightly controlled, flour, however, needed work! Mixing flour can lead to unavoidable spillages and cross-contamination risks, so implementing effective mitigation measures, such as the below, can make a significant difference.
- Dedicated Mixing Stations: Set up specific areas in the kitchen for flour mixing, well-separated from other food preparation zones. This helps contain any spills within a confined or dedicated space.
- Prepared dough: For pizza or pastry- once made these items can be rolled out using rice flour or other gluten free (GF) flour. Please note the GF flour used in recipe and other ingredient information.
- Splash Guards and Covers: Use bowls with high sides or attachable covers to minimize the spread of flour during vigorous mixing. This simple step can reduce airborne particles significantly.
- Layered Protection: Place disposable or washable mats beneath mixing bowls to catch any spills. These mats can be quickly replaced or cleaned.
- Immediate Clean-Up: Encourage staff to clean surfaces and utensils promptly after mixing. Using damp cloths or wipes is especially effective, as dry-cleaning methods can disturb and spread the flour dust.
- Storage and Transfer: When transferring flour to mixing bowls, use scoops and funnels to prevent accidental spilling. Avoid pouring flour directly from bags, as this often leads to clouds of dust.
- Utensil Segregation: Assign specific utensils for flour mixing that never come into contact with other food groups. Clearly labelling these utensils can prevent accidental use elsewhere. Before any tasks are undertaken, ensure all the required items (and ingredients) are needed to avoid flour soiled hands encountering draw or other handles. Likewise for service make sure dedicated utensils are used for specific foods.
- Chopping Boards: Use correct board type/ colour for products as directed. When preparing and cutting sandwiches ensure to only use dedicated knives and ensure fillings (that may have different allergen contents) are separated when cutting to avoid other allergen cross contact.
- Workflow Coordination: Organise the kitchen workflow so that flour-heavy tasks are scheduled during less busy times or when sensitive food preparations are not underway.
- PPE: Use aprons for dedicated flour works and remove when not in the bakery zone.
- Staff Awareness: Educate the team about flour’s potential to contaminate and emphasize the importance of minimizing spills during handling. Staff to wash hands between handling cereals and any other food, surfaces, utensils, and crockery.
Another outcome from the exercise was to identify where and when the kitchen does inadvertently cross contaminate other dishes with flour and the importance then of making sure may contain or contains notifications are added to the allergen matrix and making all staff aware.
Julian Edwards, CEO, Allergen Accreditation
