Allergen statements on our packaging
You will see several allergen statements on most of our products. The FSANZ (Food Standards Australia and New Zealand) determines the way we can make product statements on our packaging, according to the types of foods we process in our mill and factory.
This is an explanation of what the statements mean:
Statement no 1 requires that we clearly state the known allergen that is present and natural to the grain used in the product.
Example – “Contains: Gluten, Wheat” means there is gluten and wheat present in the grain used in the product. In the case of flours Spelt and Khorasan are types of wheat, while Rye and Barley are grass-like grains that also contain glutens. Oats contain a type of protein related to gluten and FSANZ requires that we declare gluten present in oats – this is why you will see “contains gluten” on all our Oat products.
Other “contains” statements include: Contains: Soy; Contains: Buckwheat; Contains: Egg, Milk; etc.
Statement no 2: “May be present” is a voluntary statement required when the risk of cross-contamination by an allergen is identified
We have an audited Food Quality Program through the SGS certifying body, and have a comprehensive food safety program that includes allergen management. As a part of the allergen management plan we have assessed the risk of cross-contamination by allergens from product to product and determined that some require us to make a voluntary “May be Present” declaration because the risk of cross-contamination is too high.
Example – “May be present: Buckwheat, Egg, Soy, Gluten, Wheat” is an allergen statement that you may have seen on some of our oat products. This means that despite our best Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and cleaning procedures we have determined that the risk of cross-contamination of buckwheat, egg, soy, milk, and wheat in certain oats products is too high, therefore we label with a precautionary statement.
See more below on our practices for dealing with allergens to avoid contamination of non-allergenic products.
N.B. We advise that if anyone who will eat the product may have a severe allergic reaction (eg: anaphylaxis) to products listed in the “may be present” statement please consult with your healthcare provider before consuming.
Our non-gluten grain standards
We are an audited Food Quality Program site and have a comprehensive food safety program that includes allergen management.
Wheat contains gluten, and all Kialla products are produced in a facility that also mills wheat.
Despite our best Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and cleaning procedures we have determined that there is risk of cross-contamination, therefore Kialla Pure Foods does not make allergen-free claims on our products.
For example, we mill a number of non-glutinous grains, and to do this we have designated non-gluten mills to reduce any cross contaminates. We utilise three mills to be able to create product segregation. Kialla Pure Foods has one pack-out line which packs flour and kibble products from all three mills. In between each production change, a full clean-out of the equipment is performed to remove any product remaining within the packing lines. This is then followed by a flush of new product through the mill packing lines to remove any hang-ups that may be present within the packing equipment. The flush is then discarded and the new product is packed.
In the event that Kialla is performing a product change from an allergenic grain, ie. Wheat, an allergen in-house test kit will be used to determine if the clean-out and flush has been sufficient enough to clear the lines of allergenic material. Even though Kialla does not guarantee allergen-free products we complete internal testing and use this to validate our cleaning program.
Kialla strives to schedule non-allergen products before allergen products however this not always possible. Even though Kialla does not guarantee allergen-free products we complete internal testing as part of our allergen management program.
What you need to know about gluten standards in food
The FSANZ (Food Standards Australia and New Zealand) sets the standard for declaring a gluten-free product. Standards 1.2.7 along with the nutrition content claims schedule state there must be no detection of gluten to make a gluten-free claim. To make a low gluten claim products must be below 20mg gluten per 100g. All gluten-free products within Australia must be ND (Nil Detected). For Kialla products to be gluten-free would require processing them in a separate factory.
Other Allergens
Kialla Pure Foods declares egg, soy, buckwheat, gluten, and milk as allergens on-site because these are either present in the grain or we add them to some products. This does not mean that each allergen is present in every product.
As best practice for allergen management, Kialla Pure Foods conducts VITAL assessments to ensure the correct “may be present” statements apply. We have an audited Food Quality Program through the SGS certifying body, and have a comprehensive food safety program that includes allergen management. Our best Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), cleaning procedures and VITAL assessments reflect the ‘May Be Present’ statement above. Kialla Pure Foods chooses not to make allergen free claims on our products.