See our article Advisory Labels: May Contain Confusion about a 2013 study in which products with “may contain” warnings were tested for the presence of peanut allergen. ‘may contain …..’) to alert consumers to the possible unintended presence of allergens. The aim of introducing allergen thresholds is to limit the use of precautionary allergen labelling (also known as PAL or ‘may contain’ warnings) so that it is only used where a food poses a real risk; while at the same time ensuring that people with food allergies are well-protected. 12 . 2014 Jan 133(1):156-64. Allergen Bureau , summary of the VITAL scientific expert panel recommendations 2011 I imagine anyway that Precautionary Allergen Labelling guidance is an entirely separate issue — ‘may contain’ versus ‘does contain’. FSA Food Allergen Labelling and Information Requirements: Technical Guidance – June 2020 . In at least three studies now, foods with precautionary labels “did contain” the allergen in question. Food Allergen Labelling - PDF (167 kb) If you are selling or making a packaged food that contains any priority food allergens, gluten sources or added sulphites, then your product likely requires allergen labelling. How to label allergens You should declare the presence of allergens which are used as ingredients within the ingredients list for the prepacked food. Food allergen cross contamination (or precautionary) statements Precautionary labelling of food ingredients; A cross contamination statement is a declaration on the label of a prepackaged product that alerts consumers of the possible presence of an allergen in the food.
The EU Food Information for Consumers (EC Regulation No. How to label allergens on your food product. Although the latest changes to food allergen labelling – Regulation No. A large group of world experts in food allergy and immunology, including Katie Allen and Stephen Taylor from the Allergen Bureau VITAL Scientific Expert Panel, have recently published an open access article calling for an international framework to drive global consistency in allergen labelling, particularly precautionary allergen labelling (PAL). upon scientific data. SHARE Fact: Historically, both the FDA and CFIA have had no objection to the voluntary use of a precautionary statement. (2014) Allergen Reference Doses for precautionary labeling (VITAL 2.0): clinical implications J Allergy Clin Immunol. Many food producers use precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) (e.g. Some of these are: Myth: “May contain” or similar precautionary statement is required on the label. 1169/2011) required this mandatory disclosure to be extended to include non‐ and prepacked foods from December 2014. You can choose the method you want to use to emphasise the allergen in the ingredients list. For example: Old This can be done by listing them in bold or contrasting colours or underlining. See also: How to Read a Label When You Have Food Allergies. Best Practice . In these cases, the Allergen Bureau recommends you use the VITAL ® Program to provide meaningful risk-based precautionary labelling. FBOs may voluntarily use labelling such as ‘produced in a kitchen which uses…’ Food allergens may also be present due, for example, to shared equipment or use of ingredients containing undisclosed allergen. The use of precautionary allergen labelling when there is not a real risk, could be considered to be misleading food information. FDA guidance for the food industry states that food allergen advisory statements, e.g., "may contain [allergen]", "produced in a facility that also uses [allergen]", etc. Myths about the use of precautionary statements, such as “May contain,” have spread through the industry.
Copyright 2020 when should precautionary allergen labelling such as 'may contain be used