Labeling Policy
- Allergic Reactions
- Most Likely Food Allergens
- Multiple Allergies
- Food Labeling
- Industry Response
- Labeling Policy
- Consumer Involvement
By Raymond Formanek Jr.
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires, in virtually all cases, that all the ingredients of a food be listed on the food label.
Two exemptions to the labeling requirements recently have been involved in a number of reported food allergen reactions: the collective naming of spices, flavorings, and colorings; and insignificant levels of additives in a food that do not have a technical or functional effect on the final product. The FDA, however, does not consider food allergens eligible for the latter labeling exemption. The agency also strongly encourages the declaration of an allergenic ingredient in a spice, flavor, or color.
"While the FDA believes that food processors make a sincere effort to label the ingredients in their food products completely, it's clear from data on food recalls that firms do miss including some allergenic ingredients on their food labels," says Falci.
Gaps in Allergen Labeling
Between September 1999 and March 2000, FDA researchers working with state inspectors from Wisconsin and Minnesota inspected 85 bakery product, ice cream and candy manufacturers for allergen labeling and cross-contamination issues, with a focus on peanut and egg allergens. Many of the firms in the study were small- to medium-sized operations. The joint study was prompted, in part, by a jump in the number of national recalls due to allergy-related ingredients not being listed on labels.
Samples were collected for egg and peanut protein analysis only when labeling or cross-contamination issues were identified by the investigator. Eighteen of the 73 samples (25 percent) of the ice cream, bakery and candy food product samples tested positive for peanut allergens, although peanuts were not listed on product labels. Investigators also found that companies unintentionally introduced food allergens into other foods through poor cleaning and cooking schedules or improper cleaning of utensils.
"These findings show that more work is needed," Falci says.
The inspectors also found that just over half of the manufacturers checked their products to ensure that the labels accurately reflected all of the ingredients.
"We certainly have legal authority at the moment to allow for recalls of undeclared allergens, and recalls are occurring for that reason," Falci says. "We're only in the beginning stages of negotiating and talking with the food industry about some things we'd like to potentially see on the label. However, the industry is beginning to take voluntary actions, which we applaud."
