Templates and records · FSSC 22000 · Clause 2.5.6

FSSC 22000 allergen management plan

FSSC requires a documented allergen plan within the management system, with its risk assessment, validated controls and review.

In one sentence

The FSSC 22000 allergen management plan is the system document setting out the risk assessment of allergen contamination from all sources, the control measures to reduce or eliminate cross-contact, their validation and verification, label control and staff training, as the additional requirements in clause 2.5.6 require.

Content reviewed on 17 October 2026

Where the standard requires it: FSSC 22000 · Clause 2.5.6 Clauses beginning with 2.5 are additional requirements in Part 2 of FSSC 22000 Version 6; those of ISO 22000:2018 are explained in their own templates.
Type of information: Mandatory document Documented plan to be maintained (FSSC 22000 v6, 2.5.6)
Who fills it in: Food safety team Production applies the controls; quality validates and verifies
When: At implementation and at every change New raw material, recipe, supplier or line; reviewed when the system is updated
How long it is kept: Set by the organisation ISO 22000 requires documented information to be retained without setting a period. It is sensible to cover the shelf life of the product with a margin, the applicable law and the three-year certification cycle.

What the standard requires

What FSSC 22000 demands and what it leaves to your judgement

FSSC requires a documented allergen management plan including a risk assessment of the possible sources of cross-contamination — raw materials, shared equipment, staff, air, rework — and the control measures to reduce or eliminate it.

The measures are validated and verified, precautionary labelling is only used where the assessment justifies it, and all finished product is labelled in line with the legislation of the country of sale. The staff involved receive specific training.

The technical content of the assessment largely matches that of BRCGS, whose sheet develops it with a shared-line example; what is specific to FSSC is that the plan forms part of the ISO 22000 management system and is reviewed with it.

Read it in context: Operation, in the FSSC 22000 Academy

Structure

Fields the template should include

Allergens present on site and products containing them
Cross-contact risk assessment by source
Control measures and owner
Validation of the measures and evidence
Periodic verification and results
Criterion for precautionary labelling
Training of the staff involved
Plan review and approval

Example

Example: plan for a fictitious cereal bar plant

Company, people and figures are fictitious: the example only shows what a properly completed record looks like.

Field	Content
Allergens	Peanut, tree nuts, milk, soya, gluten
Main source	Line shared between bars with and without peanut
Measures	Peanut-free production at the start of the week · validated wet clean · dedicated utensils
Validation	3 peanut ELISA tests after cleaning: below the limit of quantification
Verification	Rapid strip at every changeover · monthly ELISA on product
Precautionary labelling	Only on the oat bar, due to an ingredient with a risk declared by the supplier
Training	All line staff in January 2026 · assessed with a questionnaire

At the audit

Mistakes auditors commonly flag

The plan is a list of allergens with no risk assessment.
Cleaning measures that have not been validated.
Precautionary labelling on everything as a substitute for control.
The plan is not reviewed when the supplier or recipe changes.
Temporary staff with no allergen training.

In Kimobox

How this record is kept in Kimobox

1The allergen matrix by product is fed by the current technical data sheet of each raw material.
2A new version of a data sheet triggers a review of the products that use it.
3Changeover cleaning and its verification are recorded on the terminal, and a nonconforming result blocks the line.
4Allergen training is controlled by role, with its expiry date.

Frequently asked questions

What people ask us before getting started

How does it differ from the BRCGS requirement?

Very little in substance: both require a risk assessment, validated controls and justified labelling. FSSC builds it into the ISO 22000 management system as a documented plan; BRCGS treats it as a fundamental requirement carrying its own weight at audit.

Which allergens must be considered?

Those required by the law of the country of sale — in the EU, the fourteen in Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 — and any the customer asks for.

Does every clean have to be validated?

Those used as a control measure against an allergen, yes. The rest are verified through the usual cleaning routine.

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Sources

Where each figure comes from

References to the official text in force. If a standard is revised, this page is updated and the review date says so.

FSSC 22000 Version 6 — Scheme requirements (Part 2, additional requirements) Foundation FSSC · Published 31 March 2023
ISO 22000:2018 — Food safety management systems ISO · 2018 ed.