A new approach to unlock food safety opportunities
10 September 2025Working together with IGD, a cross-industry project group have taken a new approach to develop a consistent standard for allergen management.
Collaboration to improve food safety
UK consumers rely on industry to deliver safe and nutritious food. Businesses bear responsibility for providing comprehensive, reliable information and rigorous safety management at every stage in the supply chain.
Ensuring consumer safety is no place for a ‘point of difference’ or competitive advantage. It’s a collective opportunity for businesses to collaborate and strengthen choice, trust, and security.
IGD’s forums offer a pre-competitive platform to convene industry leaders. Bringing together extensive experience and expertise to identify and endorse the opportunities for united action. Sponsoring cross-industry initiatives that overcome competitive barriers to unlock best practice and benefit society.
Delivering a consistent risk assessment template
This year, IGD’s Technical Leaders Forum have showcased a new approach to collectively address food safety in the UK through the allergen management project. This cross-industry initiative explored the opportunities for harmonisation across allergen risk assessment in manufacturing sites.
The project group have worked together to create and implement a consistent template for allergen risk assessment, complete with comprehensive supporting guidance.
Consisting of a mix of retailers, manufacturers and small suppliers, the project group acts as a case study for a new, collaborative approach. Combining diverse industry knowledge and extensive insight into varying practices and policies. The project group were able to capture and refine best practice and trial the suitability of new processes in a range of businesses.
The new tool ensures consistent assessments, helps manufacturers adopt best practices, and creates a safer, more reliable environment for those living with allergies.
Preparing for a new opportunity
The manufacturing risk assessment project has unlocked the scope for industry to go further, together to advance allergen management.
The second phase of the project will explore the opportunity for greater consistency in raw material supply chain risk assessment and how to unite industry’s collective voice to strengthen consumer understanding of allergens. This new collaborative approach has been a critical step in demonstrating the collective power of cross-industry project groups. By uniting different experiences and perspectives, the group have strengthened the outcome, driving effective results. The working group actively challenged assumptions and accelerated problem-solving, creating innovations that wouldn’t surface in isolation.