| The prevalence of food allergy is increasing in recent years, and the best way to protect consumers with food allergy from eliciting allergic reaction is to avoid exposure. However, cross contamination occurs commonly during food production in the food industry that produce food with different food allergens. Effective cleaning of the equipment is important to prevent food allergen cross contamination. In this study, it was hypothesized that higher water temperature and longer rinsing-, washing-time resulted in lower peanut allergen left on stainless steel surface. Ice cream Buckeye Blitz, which contains peanut and soy, was used in this study. Thawed ice cream was filled in a stainless steel pipe for 1.5 hour and then rinsed or rinsed and washed in a simulated clean-in-place system. The effect of three times (10, 20 and 30 seconds) and five water temperatures (20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 °C) on removal of peanut allergen on stainless steel pipe was investigated by swabbing the stainless steel surface and testing for the peanut allergen Ara h1. When equipment was only rinsed, concentrations of peanut allergen residue left on the pipe ranged from 207 ppm to 63 ppm. The overall trend suggested that higher water temperature and longer rinsing time resulted in lower peanut allergen concentration on the equipment. When equipment was rinsed and then washed, concentrations of peanut allergen residue ranged from 1.43 ppm to 0.015 ppm. The overall trend suggested that time showed a less important effect as temperature on allergen removal in this study. Effective cleaning can reduce the chance of cross contamination as well as save time and money for the food industry. Understanding the principle of rinsing and washing is essential for effective allergen removal. |
