Rise in Precautionary Labelling Restricts Food Choices For Allergen Sufferers

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today published the results of a food allergy survey which highlights that some 94% of foods with precautionary allergen labelling did not contain detectable levels of the allergen referred to in the label. The FSAI states that this indicates a high level of unnecessary precautionary labels being placed on foods by manufacturers. There is ample evidence to show that rather than benefiting consumers with food allergies, the overuse of precautionary labels can further limit already restricted diets, or more seriously, desensitise them to the point that they take more risks with food.

The FSAI survey involved the Public Analyst Laboratories carrying out some 267 tests on 229 food samples which were collected by environmental health officers. The goal of the survey was to determine the level of compliance and accuracy of labelling in relation to the presence of peanut, egg or soya ingredients. The survey found that only 6% and 3% of foods carrying precautionary labels actually contained egg and soya respectively. The fact that only five out of 75 samples carrying a nut warning tested positive for peanut means that a huge 93% of the products were probably safe for consumption by people with peanut allergies, underpinning the unreliability of precautionary allergen labelling.

Of the 106 samples that carried no allergen label, peanuts were detected in 2% of samples tested, with undeclared egg and soya each detected in 5% of products.  One sample was found to contain both undeclared egg and peanut, with the levels of egg detected indicating that it had been used as an ingredient as opposed to being a contaminant which would not require specific allergen labelling.  On the surface, these figures do not appear alarming, but food allergens, particularly peanut can cause severe and possibly life-threatening reactions in response to even trace levels of the particular allergen.

According to Prof Alan Reilly, Chief Executive, FSAI the food industry is responsible for the integrity and accuracy of the labelling on their products. 

    “The results of this FSAI study serve to highlight that there is an element of defensive labelling by the food industry when it comes to food allergens. Companies who purport to be acting in the interests of the consumers should only use precautionary allergen labels when there is a verifiable risk, but our survey shows that in the vast majority of cases these foods posed no risk. It is defensive labelling and an easy option for a company to cover itself – when in fact with proper control and monitoring they could make many of these foods available to food allergy sufferers. The FSAI is urging manufacturers to be prudent in applying voluntary allergen advice and to not use such labels as an opt-out clause in place of proper manufacturing practices.”

    “Information on labels such as ‘may contain nuts’ or ‘manufactured on a line that also uses nuts’ are voluntary and likely to be of little benefit to allergy sufferers based on the results of this survey.  It is acting as a quick fix for those food business operators unwilling or unable to adhere to good manufacturing practices and HACCP controls,” concludes Prof Reilly.

    “The FSAI is in the process of reviewing how food allergens are monitored in Ireland with a view to introducing more effective procedures in order to give greater protection to consumers with food allergies and to help them regain confidence in food labels” according to Dr. Pat O’Mahony, Chief Specialist in Food Technology.
Though precise figures are not available, some medical experts estimate the number of children and adults with food allergies and food intolerances in Ireland to be in the tens of thousands.  Manufacturers are legally required to declare the presence of specified allergens, when they are used in the manufacture or preparation of pre-packaged food.  There are currently 14 categories of ingredients according to EU legislation, namely: cereals containing gluten; crustaceans; eggs; fish, soybeans; milk; celery and celeriac; mustard; sesame seeds; sulphur dioxide and sulphites; peanuts; tree nuts; molluscs; and lupins.

The FSAI provides a free email and SMS text service which will directly inform food allergy sufferers of the presence of allergens in inappropriately labelled foods – interested consumers can sign up online.

 Click here to view full survey 

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