I write frequently about the government stepping up its efforts to ensure food regulated by the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) do not contain undeclared allergens. Some have labeled these efforts as the agency’s “Attack on Allergens.”
While the FSIS-regulated food industry has directed most of its limited food-safety resources over the last decade toward keeping harmful pathogens out of its food products, the existence of undeclared allergens has become a major issue. As I watch the meat industry begin to shift those limited resources away from the control of pathogens toward enhanced allergen control, I am fearful that food companies may once again expose their flanks to increased recalls for the presence of E. coli, Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes in regulated products.