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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 There is no cure for food allergies, so consumers have to protect themselves by avoiding, or at least trying to avoid, food items that will cause a reaction.
The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) required new labels on packaged foods containing "major food allergens," which were defined as milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans, or any other ingredient that contains protein derived from one of these foods or food groups.
Among other things, labels now had to include plain-English descriptions of ingredients and possible allergens.
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But some experts worry that the new law may have overburdened the information landscape. They suspect the current hearings may be trying to rectify that.
"I think they may be trying to find a medium in how much do they have to explain and in how much detail," said Dr. Jonathan Field, emeritus director of the pediatric allergy and asthma clinic at New York University/Bellevue Medical Center in New York City. "There's a problem on both sides in terms of over-labeling or under-labeling foods. I think they have to be specific."
For example, manufacturers may need to use statistics (one part per million, for instance) to more precisely identify what "trace amount" means.
During the hearings, the FDA will explore whether current advisory labeling such as "may contain" or "produced on shared equipment that processes [allergen]" goes largely ignored by consumers and what might constitute better labeling.
The FDA will also investigate the best way to word advisory statements.
But total clarity in the area of food labeling may just not be possible.
"There's always going to be a very gray area with this, no matter what they do to change it," Field said. "You can't with every product and every production facility (especially if equipment is used for more than one product) be 100 percent accurate. It's variable. Some patients are exquisitely sensitive to trace amounts, and others have milder symptoms. There has to be clear-cut communication on the child's or adult's allergy and what is the likelihood of a reaction. Some of that is not going to be cleared up with a simple change in the label."
More information
There's more on the hearing at the FDA.
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