NEW YORK—Consumers with food allergies are increasingly ignoring allergen advisory labels of packaged food, perhaps out of frustration and doubt about whether the information can be trusted, according to a new study conducted by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
The findings, published in the August 2010 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, report on the results of their Food Allergy Initiative-funded study that investigated three issues related to labeling and allergen contamination including the frequency and level of contamination of a large sample of products with advisory labeling for three major allergens (egg, milk, and peanut); the differences in the contamination risks between large and small manufacturers; and the frequency and level of contamination of products that lack advisory labeling but are similar to ones bearing allergen warnings.
The researchers analyzed more than 400 non-perishable products with advisory labeling for the three allergens and similar products without advisory labeling from multiple supermarkets in New York and New Jersey. They chose from eight product categories (baking mixes, chocolate candies, non-chocolate candies, cookies, salty snacks, cold cereals, pastas and pancake mixes) and each product was tested for egg, milk and/or peanut allergens where there was a reasonable possibility of contamination. They found detectable residues of the three allergens in 5.3% of advisory labeled products and in 1.9% of similar products without advisory statements.
Small companies were found to have more contaminated foods, at 5.1% contamination, compared with 0.8% of products from large companies. Among products without advisory statements, no peanut was detected.
The researchers concluded their findings represent a real risk for consumers. They highlight the need for allergic customers to avoid products with advisory labels and to have some concern for products that have no advisory labels, particularly from small companies within categories of higher risk products. These data also highlight the importance of increasing awareness among manufacturers, particularly smaller companies, of the need for appropriate labeling that accurately informs of risks and to take steps to further reduce contamination.
"Our study underscores the need for allergic consumers to avoid advisory-labeled products, which present a small but real risk," the authors wrote.
The federal Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires packaged foods labels disclose the presence of any of the eight major food allergens; however, allergen advisory labels, which use wording like “may contain" or “made in a facility that processes," are voluntary and are not standardized or regulated.
