Why partner with Campden BRI for your allergen testing?

11 April 2025 | Danielle Cawdron, Chief Chemist, and Nick Byrd, Associate Director - Technical Services

How confident are you, that you are on top of the risks that food allergens pose to your business?

The increasing coverage of food allergies in the media has turned a very bright spotlight on the food supply chain and how businesses manage the associated risks. In recent months, there has also been a concerning surge in cross contamination in the food supply chain, garnering more attention still. If you add all that to the fundamental requirements of compliance with FIC regulations, the need to partner with a competent, accredited, knowledgeable and experienced food allergen testing laboratory has never been higher.

We know how challenging and confusing it can be to determine exactly what your business needs in this arena. Whether you have been in the food business for many years, or you are just starting out, there is a lot to consider when choosing a laboratory to partner with.

Campden BRI have over 100 years of expertise supporting food and drink businesses. We know what it takes to successfully manage and mitigate allergen risks and can help you in all areas of food allergen management and testing.

How to choose a food allergens’ testing partner.

To help you make those decisions, we have put together a list of key considerations.

Certification and accreditations:

Undeclared allergens can lead to product recalls. Product recalls are expensive! You need to make sure that any potential laboratory you are considering working with are both correctly qualified and certified in line with industry requirements.

Campden BRI credentials – We hold ISO17025 and UKAS accreditation – amongst the most stringent in the food industry.

Testing methods and capabilities

Selecting the right tests is crucial. Your prospective laboratory partner should work with you to understand your requirements and identify the correct analyses.

Campden BRI services:

• Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
• Lateral Flow Device (LFD)
• Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

These are the routine types of testing for allergens. Campden BRI offer them all and will liaise with you prior to submission to ensure we are offering the right tests, for the right allergens, for your specific needs.

Experience and expertise

You should be looking for a lab with a proven track record in food allergen testing, combined with a comprehensive understanding of regulatory requirements. This should lead to a clear offering of different analyses depending on what you need.

Campden BRI’s expertise allow us to:

• Verify that the controls and procedures that you have in place for managing food allergens are working.
• Validate and verify your cleaning methods are removing food allergens.
• Provide evidence for compliance with allergen claims i.e. gluten-free, milk-free, lactose-free, etc.
• Assist with investigations into customer complaints.
• Determine the food allergen status of raw ingredients.
• Support quantitative risk assessments to inform decisions making on precautionary allergen labelling / information, etc.

Flexibility and customisation

With many food manufacturers typically producing a myriad of different food products and ingredients, it is significantly beneficial to choose a partner that will quickly understand your needs and be able to tailor their service accordingly.

Campden BRI process – We offer a flexible bespoke service. This includes (but isn’t limited to) advise on sampling and the best analytical method(s) to meet your needs. Combine this with our ability to offer expert interpretation of results and assess the implications for your holistic food allergen management system, we are perfectly placed to help in all aspects.

Turnaround times

Food production environments are fast paced. If a food allergen cross contamination outbreak occurs, it can lead to a fight against time to react appropriately. You need a partner that will respond with the necessary urgency, flexibility and capacity,

Campden BRI turnaround times – We offer UKAS accredited testing with both standard and rapid turnaround times to meet your needs.

Data security and reporting

With food allergens being such a high interest topic, and the risks of ineffective testing and results having dire consequences for both businesses and individuals alike, clear, accurate and secure reporting of your test results is vital. A good way to identify best providers, is to explore their involvement in initiatives to raise standards of practice in laboratory testing.

Campden BRI reporting initiatives – We established CLAS (Campden Laboratory Approval Scheme). This is a leading independent laboratory approval/certification scheme for food industry laboratories, created to establish technical and reporting excellence. The many benefits of CLAS include:

• Verification of technical competence.
• Confidence in results.
• Assists in Due Diligence defence.
• Contribution to quality systems/certifications (e.g. BRC, ISO 9000).
• Experienced, technically competent assessors.
• Clear reporting and categorisation of audit findings.

Support and guidance

This might be towards the end of the list, but that in no way diminishes its importance to your decision-making criteria; it’s the string that binds it all. Food allergens are an ever-evolving field and navigating it requires a partner that can give you the support to do so successfully.

Campden BRI services and support - We offer the full range of food allergen services, going beyond testing and analysis. We cover allergen management, labelling and legislation and food allergen training too.

You should also consider that hypersensitivity can be caused by substances at any stage of the food chain - from ‘farm to fork’. Via techniques including risk assessment, risk management and risk communication, Campden BRI can provide advice and support for your specific processes or products. This will result in you implementing the most effective solutions to manage and mitigate your risks.

Furthermore, we have extensive knowledge and expertise in current global legislation. This means we can offer you invaluable advice and guidance on best practice and legal requirements.

Quality and value add

In an ideal world, businesses would have unlimited budgets to tackle food allergens. The reality is more complex, but you should consider this. The value a laboratory partner can offer is much more than the end PDF report. In an area as complex and adaptive as this one, getting the right partner can ensure you have the support and guidance you need to navigate both simple and complex projects alike.

Campden BRI value – Pricing aside, where we excel is the ‘value add’. We are proud of our multi discipline expertise and cross departmental working, and believe it genuinely gives us a real edge over our competitors in this arena. If you want to learn more, reach out.

In conclusion

Whether you are new to the food industry, experienced, or in between, we hope this blog has given you useful insights.

Ultimately, whatever mix of experience and expertise you decide on, make sure the partner you choose gives you the confidence to manage all the risk’s food allergens present to your food supply chain.

And if you think our experienced experts here at Campden BRI can help, get in touch!

Find out more about our food allergen testing capabilities and wider allergen management, labelling and legislation and food allergen training services.

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