Ensuring Appropriate Information for the Allergenic Consumer - the Role of Food Regulation

Marion Healy, Peter Abbott, Janis Baines, Hikmat Hayder, Leigh Henderson and Paul Brent

Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Barton , ACT

In Australia and New Zealand, the requirements for food allergen labelling are covered under Standard 1.2.3 - Mandatory Warning Statements and Declarations of the Australian New Zealand Food Standards Code. The current allergen labelling requirements are intended to alert allergenic consumers to the presence of the major food allergens. Generally, labelling declarations are required if certain foods and their products are present, namely cereals, crustacea, fish, milk, peanuts, treenuts, soybean, sesame seeds, soybean, as well as added sulphites. There requirements, which came into full effect with the implementation of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code in December 2002, were a significant increase in the allergens requiring declaration, thereby providing significantly more information for consumers at risk of allergenic reactions. Research into the use of the labelling requirements revealed that those households with allergenic consumers used labels extensively to manage their food allergies. It also identified potential changes to the labelling requirements to enhance the clarity and understanding. Implementation of the labelling requirements also revealed some practical difficulties for industry, as indicated by the increased use of 'may contain' statements and the increased number of food recalls due to undeclared allergens. The current requirements also do not allow any exemptions for the derivatives of the foods requiring declaration and does not specify thresholds for the declarations. Furthermore, an assessment framework is required to evaluate newly identified allergenic food entering the food supply to determine if they should also be subject to labelling declarations. Therefore, while significant progress has been made in providing useful and appropriate information to allergenic consumers, experience has also demonstrated that further refinements may be needed into the future.