Allergen declaration
The statement of allergens present in a material, or possible through shared equipment.
What is a allergen declaration?
An allergen declaration is a supplier's statement of which regulated allergens a material contains, and which may be present through cross-contact with shared equipment or facilities. In Australia and New Zealand, allergen labelling for food is governed by the Food Standards Code, which requires declared allergens to be identified in plain English. The declaration covers two distinct situations that are easy to conflate. Allergens present as ingredients are intentional and appear in the composition. Allergens present through cross-contact arrive from shared lines, shared air handling or shared storage, and are managed rather than formulated. A receiving manufacturer needs both, because their own labelling obligations flow from what they put in and from what their supply chain may have introduced. For surplus material, the allergen declaration should travel with the batch alongside its Certificate of Analysis, since a change of supplier site can change the cross-contact position entirely.
How Surply uses it
Where a seller holds an allergen declaration for a food or personal-care material, it is published with the listing's other documents rather than left for a buyer to request after enquiring.
Also known as: allergen statement, allergen information, cross-contact declaration.