International guidelines on precautionary allergen labelling, specifically for labels indicating that a product ‘may contain’ certain allergens, have been introduced.
The new guidelines have been drawn up by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) following a meeting in Rome.
The guidelines aim to ensure that ‘may contain’ labelling is only used once the risk has been scientifically assessed, and if it cannot be adequately mitigated through good allergen management practices.
What is the Codex Alimentarius?
The Codex Alimentarius, or 'food code', is a set of guidelines, standards and codes of practice that aim to protect consumer health and facilitate fair practice in food. It consists of a broad corpus of texts relating to food commodities and food safety, including thousands of numerical levels for food additives, contaminants and residues of pesticides. It also covers food labelling.
These standards oversee how food, especially food safety, is regulated around the world. While the standards remain voluntary rather than mandatory, many countries have them written into their national legislation.
The standards are set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), which currently has 188 member states and one member organisation, the EU.
What are ‘may contain’ labels?
During the production of food, small amounts of an allergen can sometimes make their way into the food in question even when it is not an ingredient, often when it is made on the same premises as products containing such an allergen.
A ‘may contain’ label alerts the consumer that the presence of an allergen is possible, thereby preventing them from accidentally ingesting it.
‘May contain’ labelling is currently unregulated in many parts of the world. A lack of harmonised standards on such labelling makes it difficult for consumers to judge allergen risk.
According to the FAO, around 4.3% of people worldwide are affected by food allergies. Therefore, a large chunk of the world’s population is vulnerable to this lack of regulation.
What are the new guidelines?
The new guidelines aim to make the assessment of whether a food ‘may contain’ an allergen more scientific.
Under these new standards, ‘may contain’ labelling should only be used once food businesses have implemented allergen management measures, as well as conducted a scientific risk assessment demonstrating that there is still a residual risk from potential unintended allergen presence.
The guidance aims to provide a harmonised standard for allergen labelling, in order to give greater clarity to regulators and food companies, and instil more confidence in consumers.
