IBIE 2022 09 18 - 4

IBIE SUNDAY
BAKERS MUST PREPARE FOR NEW
SESAME ALLERGEN LABELING REGULATIONS
New regulations will take effect at the beginning of the next year.
EVER SINCE THE federal law that made
sesame the ninth major allergen
in 2021, Nathan Mirdamadi,
senior food safety specialist,
Commercial Food Sanitation/
Intralox, has felt almost like
the boy that's been crying wolf.
He's been trying to raise awareness
of the law that will require
bakeries and food manufacturers
to declare sesame as an allergen on
the labeling of packaged foods starting
January 2023 and supporting efforts at multiple
companies to prepare for that date.
" One of my struggles is getting bakers to understand
that the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) will see sesame just like they see peanuts, "
he said. " Bakers tend to see harmless sesame
seeds, but the FDA is going to look at that bun like
it's covered in peanuts, and they're not going to
look lightly on it. "
During his IBIEducate session on " Lessons
Learned While Addressing Sesame Seed at Commercial
Bakeries, " Mr. Mirdamadi outlined the
impact of the law and how the FDA
will require that facilities have
preventive controls in place
to minimize the risk of undeclared
food allergens.
He said allergen cleaning
for sesame can require a significant
amount of scheduled
downtime. As a result, bakeries
are exploring labeling issues,
such as labeling all their products
made in facilities that use sesame. However,
that leaves some affected consumers and
their families with fewer choices in the market,
and bakers should explore all options.
" What I learned is that the bakeries aren't
ready, " he said. " Most of them are looking for
labeling and formulation solutions, and I can
appreciate how difficult the challenge is for
them. Bakers are going to want to make sanitation
changeovers as quickly as possible. I would
be working with all my vendors to see how they
could help me make that possible. " *
- Dan Malovany, Baking & Snack
Nathan Mirdamadi, senior food safety specialist, Commercial Food Sanitation/Intralox, spoke at " Lessons Learned While Addressing Sesame Seed at
Commercial Bakeries " at an IBIEducate session Saturday. He will speak on the same topic again at 9:45 a.m. today.
pandemic preparedness as the new norm
Bakers can avoid missteps by having a plan in writing, meeting often.
NOT HAVING A plan in place to cover a pandemic
crisis scenario could cost baking companies, according
to AIB International. The educational
research company said 62% of food and beverage
companies experienced an increase in operating
costs due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
While food manufacturing companies say
they feel more prepared to deal with another
pandemic, 45% say they still don't feel very prepared.
In the Saturday IBIEducate session " Impacts,
Learnings, and Planning for a Pandemic
Era, " Judi Lazaro, senior director of global sales
at AIB, said the educational research company
has created a Pandemic Prepared Certification
program with practical tips for bakers.
The certification program creates a set of
standards for an effective crisis management
plan, she said.
" It's not for the faint of heart, " Ms. Lazaro
said. " The certification will involve a robust and
comprehensive standard that begins with AIB
conducting a remote audit for participants. "
Ms. Lazaro said pandemic preparedness
means having a written plan and reviewing it
often, assessing risk, creating actionable items
4 | September 18, 2022
and testing your plan.
AIB's research shows 30% of food and beverage
executives think we will see another pandemic
in the next four years, and half of the expect
it in the next decade. If another pandemic
crisis does arise, Ms. Lazaro advised holding
crisis management team meetings during the
pandemic to assess if the plan is working properly.
" Meet often, " she said. " Communication is
key for a crisis management plan to work. " *
- Lisa Berry, Milling & Baking News
TIA tech conference
kicks off at IBIE
THE TORTILLA INDUSTRY Association's (TIA) technical
conference, once again colocated with IBIE,
addressed several topics this year, including
operational skills, safety regulations, quality
control, plant efficiency and best practices, all
of which were designed to capitalize on the baking
industry's fastest growing market segment.
The two-day event kicked off on Saturday, Sept.
17, and concludes midday today, Sept. 18.
In addition to the technical presentations,
which include talks on supply chain, equipment
safety, labor savings and alternative flours, the
conference featured an " Ask the Experts " working
lunch and a cocktail hour, which included
tabletop exhibitions from nearly 20 companies.
Jim Kabbani, chief executive officer, TIA,
highlighted the tortilla industry's tremendous
growth over the past several years, pointing to
a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of between
5% and 9% from 1996 to present. He also
shared that US tortilla sales reached $21 billion
in 2021.
" Growth in our industry is driven by two
factors: demographic market drivers and nondemographic
drivers, " explained Mr. Kabbani,
during the conference's opening session. " Demographic
growth can be attributed to a rise
in the Hispanic or Latino population, which
has increased dramatically since 1980. Nondemographic
drivers are often found when
consumers seek to improve their eating habits,
or when a wider variety of eating options are
made available (kosher, organic or gluten-free,
for example). Convenience and an increase in
non-Hispanic buyers also play a factor. "
Mr. Kabbani said the COVID-19 pandemic
may have also played a role in driving the tortilla
market's recent growth, citing a rise in the
retail channel during the early days of the pandemic's
lockdown.
In an effort to expand TIA's reach to include
flatbread manufacturers, Mr. Kabbani
introduced the International Flatbread Federation
(IFF), a sister organization dedicated to the
industry's restaurants, foodservice managers
and flatbread users.
For more information about TIA, please
visit www.tortilla-info.com. IFF's website can
be found at www.flatbreads.org. *
- Keith Moore, Baking & Snack

IBIE 2022 09 18

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