Food Allergy Awareness Support & Training

A new food labeling law now requires food manufacturers to disclose in plain language whether products contain any of the top eight food allergens.

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) , which took effect
January 1, 2006, mandates that foods containing milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, and soy must declare the food in plain language on the ingredient list or via:

• the word “Contains” followed by the name of the major food allergen (milk, wheat, or eggs for example); or

• a parenthetical statement in the list of ingredients, e.g., “albumin (egg)”.

Such ingredients must be listed even if they are present in colors, flavors, or spice blends. Additionally, manufacturers must list the specific nut or seafood that is used (e.g., almond, walnut, cashew; or tuna, salmon, shrimp, or lobster). While more than 160 foods have been identified as causing allergic reactions, the eight foods listed above cause 90% of food-allergic reactions.

FALCPA will certainly make label-reading easier for the millions of Americans living with food allergies. Keep in mind, however, that the law only applies to products labeled on or after January 1, 2006; depending on a product's shelf life, it may take up to a year before all products list ingredients in simple language. Until then, continue to read all labels carefully and be on the lookout for scientific terms (i.e., “casein” for milk, or “albumin” for egg).

FDA/CFSAN Guidance on FALCPA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center For Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) has additional information on FALCPA available at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-alrgy.html