Canadian Allergen Management Guidelines

Our industry-led consensus guidelines offer food manufacturers a robust framework for effectively managing food allergens within their facilities.

These guidelines include a comprehensive approach to precautionary allergen labelling (PAL), ensuring enhanced safety and clarity for consumers.

Download the guidelines for free and benefit from our in-depth resources to help you implement them!

Canadian food processors’ perspective: How well are allergens being managed by Canadian food manufacturers?

Discover the results of our research focused on Canadian food and beverage manufacturers and their overall allergen management practices, including the use of precautionary allergen labelling (PAL).

The research insights also include industry input on areas for improvement and how to move forward to advance allergen management practices.

Research: Vegan and plant-based claims and the risk implications for food-allergic consumers

Read the latest Canadian research on vegan products and the risk implications for milk- and egg-allergic consumers.

Research: Understand the risks of egg proteins in chicken products



Discover the research findings of a study investigating the presence of egg proteins in products made from spent fowl. Find out the potential risks to egg-allergic consumers.

Notice to industry: Undeclared milk allergens in chocolate products

Over the last two years, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) identified several instances of non-compliance related to undeclared milk in dark chocolate samples. These issues frequently led to product recalls.

Read CFIA's latest notice to industry to help address this issue.

Novel food: Canola protein isolate and cruciferin-rich canola protein isolate

Health Canada has evaluated the use of canola protein isolate and cruciferin-rich canola protein isolate as food ingredients and alternative protein sources.

Learn more about the results of their safety assessment.

What we heard report: Consultation on the development of voluntary guidance for providing food information for foods sold to consumers through e-commerce

Read the report from Health Canada and the CFIA on the outcomes of their consultation regarding the development of voluntary guidance for providing food information for products sold to consumers through e-commerce.

United States

The FDA announced the availability of a draft chapter on how to establish and implement a food allergen program, including PAL.

International

The Netherlands take the lead with a new allergen policy for PAL. Learn more about this policy and how they are supporting industry in implementing the new requirements.

New tool: VITAL 4.0 – enhanced allergen risk assessment for the Canadian food industry

The Allergen Bureau has launched VITAL 4.0, the latest version of the VITAL^® program -- now available for the Canadian food industry.

Practical guidance on the application of a food allergen quantitative risk assessment

ILSI Europe launched a guidance document to help food business operators decide when an allergen quantitative risk assessment is appropriate or necessary and what is the most suitable methodology. 

Article: Taking a risk-based approach to PAL: the role of allergen thresholds

Dr. Sébastien La Vieille from Health Canada shares his expertise on allergen thresholds. Learn what thresholds are, what levels are recommended and how they can be useful as a part of your company's risk assessment practices.

Article: New research – Simulated use of thresholds for PAL: Impact of prevalence and risk

Dr. Silvia Dominguez from Université Laval shares the results of the first study to quantitatively assess the impact of the potential adoption of thresholds for PAL.