FSA asks for opinions on new “may contain” allergen labels guidance
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has asked for views on new advice for how and when to apply precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) on food packaging. This form of labelling is commonly known as “may contain”, and it warns consumers that a product potentially contains traces of an allergen.
Under this new guidance, and in accordance with food law, food business operators (FBOs) should specify which of the 14 major allergens their PAL refers to (e.g. using “may contain peanuts” or “may contain tree nuts” rather than the generic “may contain nuts”).
The Agency has also urged FBOs to apply PAL only following a thorough risk assessment “to ensure consumer safety and choice are not unnecessarily affected”.
Moreover, FSA is asking for comments on the new guidance that PAL for a specific allergen should not be applied on a product if it claims to be “free-from” that exact allergen (this would mean that a food product labelled as “dairy free” should not have also a “may contain milk” label).
In addition, the new guidance also advises that FBOs should not use No Gluten Containing Ingredients Statements (NGCIs), for example “this menu has been designed for a non-gluten diet”. Rather, the Agency suggests using only the phrases “gluten free” or “low gluten” to avoid misleading consumers.
The FSA reported that the proposed changes were supported by more than 90% of respondents to the “May Contain Consultation”, that was launched in December 2021.
“While the use of PAL is voluntary, it is important that it should be as accurate and helpful to consumers as possible when it is applied,” said Ben Rayner, FSA Food Hypersensitivity Team Leader. “This new guidance will help ensure businesses and those living with food allergies and intolerances get the greatest possible benefit from PAL”, he added.
Those who want to respond to the consultation can do so by visiting the consultation page.
The consultation closes on Monday 22 May.
Source:
https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/fsa-seeks-views-on-new-may-contain-guidance
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