FDA News
FDA to
Require Food Manufacturers to List Food Allergens
Consumers
with Allergies Will Benefit From Improved Food Labels
Effective
January 1, 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is requiring
food labels to clearly state if food products contain any ingredients
that contain protein derived from the eight major allergenic foods. As a
result of the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004
(FALCPA), manufacturers are required to identify in plain English the
presence of ingredients that contain protein derived from milk, eggs,
fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soybeans in
the list of ingredients or to say "contains" followed by name of the
source of the food allergen after or adjacent to the list of
ingredients.
"I applaud
Congress for the passage of FALCPA," said Andrew C. von Eschenbach,
M.D., Acting FDA Commissioner. "Chairman Joe Barton and Ranking Member
John D. Dingell in the House, Energy and Commerce Committee were
instrumental in moving this bipartisan legislation forward.
Representative Nita Lowey was the original sponsor of the legislation.
FDA also applauds the dedication and leadership of the legislation's
sponsors in the Senate, which include Senators Judd Gregg and Edward
Kennedy."
This
labeling will be especially helpful to children who must learn to
recognize the presence of substances they must avoid. For example, if a
product contains the milk-derived protein, casein, the product's label
will have to use the term "milk" in addition to the term "casein" so
that those with milk allergies can clearly understand the presence of
the allergen they need to avoid.
It is
estimated that 2 percent of adults and about 5 percent of infants and
young children in the United States suffer from food allergies.
Approximately 30,000 consumers require emergency room treatment and 150
Americans die each year because of allergic reactions to food.
"The eight
major food allergens account for 90 percent of all documented food
allergic reactions, and some reactions may be severe or
life-threatening," said Robert E. Brackett, PhD, Director of FDA's
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "Consumers will benefit
from improved food labels for products that contain food allergens."
FALCPA
does not require food manufacturers or retailers to relabel or remove
from grocery or supermarket shelves products that do not reflect the
additional allergen labeling as long as the products were labeled before
the effective date. As a result, FDA cautions consumers that there will
be a transition period of undetermined length during which it is likely
that consumers will see packaged food on store shelves and in consumers'
homes without the revised allergen labeling.
For more
information about FALCPA, visit FDA's food allergy page at
http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-alrgy.html.
