An allergen control plan is the document that proves your plant thought about allergens before something went wrong. Auditors ask for it by name. This template gives you the full structure — fill in the bracketed prompts with your site’s details, keep it with your food safety plan, and review it at least once a year or whenever products, suppliers, or equipment change.
How to use this template
Replace every [bracketed prompt] with your site’s information. Delete sections that don’t apply, and note why they don’t. Where the template points to the worked example at the end, adapt that changeover to your own line. Keep completed records with the plan — a plan without records is one you can’t prove.
1. Purpose
[Company name] controls food allergens at [site address] so that:
- allergens present in products are declared correctly on labels;
- allergens not in a product do not end up in it through cross-contact;
- everyone on site knows which allergens are handled here and what the controls are.
2. Scope
This plan covers [list areas: receiving, storage, production, packing, warehousing, rework, sanitation] at [site]. It applies to all employees, contractors, and visitors who enter production areas. Products covered: [list product families, or “all products made on site”].
Out of scope: [e.g., office areas with no food production — state what and why].
3. Allergen list
List every allergen handled on site — in ingredients, processing aids, and rework. Use the Codex priority list (Codex CXS 1-1985) as your starting reference: cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt), crustaceans, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, and sulphites at 10 mg/kg or more. Add any others your markets require.
| Allergen | Present in which products/materials | Where stored | Cross-contact risk |
| [e.g., Milk] | [e.g., all filled biscuits] | [e.g., dry store bay 3, blue labels] | [High/Med/Low — why] |
| [Allergen] | [Products] | [Location] | [Risk] |
| [Allergen] | [Products] | [Location] | [Risk] |
[Name/role] reviews this list whenever a new ingredient, supplier, or product is introduced, and signs off each change.
4. Supplier controls
- Every ingredient supplier declares allergen status in writing: which allergens the ingredient contains, and which allergens are handled on the supplier’s own site. [Attach or reference your allergen questionnaire: ___]
- [Role] reviews supplier allergen declarations [annually / on change].
- Incoming goods are checked against the purchase specification: the label matches the order, and allergen-containing materials carry the agreed identifier [e.g., red “ALLERGEN” stickers].
- Non-conforming deliveries are rejected or placed on hold under the nonconforming product procedure — never “used carefully.”
5. Label verification
- The label for each product is checked against the approved recipe at [frequency: every run / every changeover / per shift]. [Role] performs the check; [role] verifies it.
- Each check covers: the ingredient list matches the formula, allergens are emphasized as required, and any precautionary statement matches the site’s own risk assessment — not copied from the previous label.
- Label rolls are stored [how: segregated by product, locked cage]; obsolete labels are destroyed and the destruction recorded [how].
- First-off-pack check: the first [number] packs of every run are checked against the product specification before the run continues.
Precautionary allergen statements (“may contain…”) are used only where cross-contact cannot be reliably prevented despite controls — never as a substitute for cleaning or segregation. Every statement rests on a documented risk assessment, reviewed [annually].
6. Production scheduling and sequencing
- Where possible, schedule non-allergen products before allergen-containing products on shared lines.
- Run products with the same allergen profile back-to-back to cut down changeovers.
- Allergen changeovers are planned events with a documented procedure (see section 7). The production schedule flags allergen runs in advance — [how: color-coded schedule, planning board].
- Rework containing allergens is [segregated, labelled, and only reworked into products that already contain that allergen / not permitted — delete as applicable]. Rework with no clear allergen identity is discarded.
7. Cleaning: validation vs verification
Validation proves the cleaning procedure is capable of removing the allergen. Do it once per procedure — and again whenever the procedure, product, or equipment changes. Clean exactly per the written procedure, then test the hardest-to-clean spots with a laboratory method (e.g., ELISA specific to the allergen). If the worst spots pass, the procedure is proven capable. Record the method, the results, and the acceptance criteria.
Verification confirms the cleaning worked on this occasion. Do it at every allergen changeover: visual inspection (clean to sight and touch, no residue) plus a rapid test (e.g., general protein swab) at defined points. Set pass/fail criteria in advance — [e.g., protein swab below the kit’s detection limit at all 5 defined points].
- Cleaning procedures are written step by step: [reference your sanitation SOP numbers].
- Verification results are recorded before the next product starts. A failed verification stops the line — see corrective actions.
8. Training
- Everyone entering production areas can name the allergens handled on site and the basic controls. Checked at induction and [annually].
- Production, sanitation, and warehouse teams get role-specific allergen training: [what each role must know — e.g., sanitation: the validated cleaning procedure and verification steps; warehouse: segregation and labelling of allergen materials].
- Training records are kept per section 10. Retraining follows any allergen incident or plan change.
9. Corrective actions
| If this happens | Do this | Who | Record |
| Wrong label applied | Stop the line. Quarantine everything back to the last good check. Assess, then relabel or dispose per procedure. | [Role] | [Record ref] |
| Verification swab fails | Stop. Re-clean per procedure and re-verify. The next product does not start until verification passes. | [Role] | [Record ref] |
| Undeclared allergen found in finished product | Hold all affected lots. Notify [food safety manager]. Assess recall need per the recall procedure. | [Role] | [Record ref] |
| Supplier allergen declaration missing or changed | Place the ingredient on hold. Do not use it until a current declaration is received and reviewed. | [Role] | [Record ref] |
10. Records
Keep, at minimum: the current allergen list and its change log; supplier allergen declarations; label verification checks; production schedules showing allergen runs; cleaning validation reports; changeover verification results; training records; corrective action records. Retention: [period — e.g., shelf life + 1 year]. Storage: [where]. [Role] reviews the full plan [annually] and after any incident, audit finding, or change.
Worked example: one allergen changeover
Situation. Line 2 makes peanut butter sandwich biscuits on the morning shift and plain oat biscuits in the afternoon. Peanut is the allergen; the oat biscuit must not contain it.
Scheduling. The peanut product runs last in its sequence; the plain product follows only after the full changeover below. Both runs and the changeover window are marked on the schedule.
Line clearance. All peanut ingredients, dough, and packaging leave the line area. Oat biscuit packaging is staged only after clearance is confirmed. [Operator] signs the clearance check.
Cleaning. [Sanitation team] cleans per SOP SAN-014 (allergen clean): dry clean, detergent wash, rinse, sanitize food-contact surfaces, air-dry. Dismantled parts — nozzles, guides — are cleaned in the washroom, not at the line.
Verification. [QA] inspects visually, then runs rapid protein swabs at 5 defined worst-case points: mixer seal, depositor nozzle, conveyor transfer, guide rails, packing chute. All 5 must read below the kit’s detection limit. Results are logged before the oat biscuit run starts.
Label check. The first 10 packs of oat biscuits are checked: correct film, ingredient list matches the formula, and no precautionary statement beyond what the risk assessment supports.
If a swab fails. The line does not start. Re-clean, re-swab. Two consecutive failures trigger a review of SOP SAN-014 itself — the procedure goes under investigation, not just the execution.
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A plan nobody reads is decoration. Walk your line with this document once, fix what doesn’t match reality, and the next audit’s allergen questions answer themselves.