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Precautionary allergen labelling following new labelling practice in A ustralia
Author(s) -
Zurzolo Giovanni A,
Mathai Michael L,
Koplin Jennifer J,
Allen Katrina J
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of paediatrics and child health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.631
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1440-1754
pISSN - 1034-4810
DOI - 10.1111/jpc.12138
Subject(s) - labelling , food labelling , precautionary principle , medicine , food labeling , food products , allergen , toxicology , food science , microbiology and biotechnology , allergy , immunology , biology , biochemistry
Aims We aimed to assess the prevalence and types of precautionary labelling statements for common food allergens on the packages of products for which these allergens were not listed as an ingredient and to investigate the uptake of the V oluntary I ncidental T race A llergen L abelling, a new risk management tool developed in A ustralia to assist with declaring the possible presence of allergens in food products by manufacturers. We also aimed to examine changes in the prevalence of precautionary labelling for egg, peanuts and tree nuts over a 3‐year period. Methods All packaged processed goods in a large supermarket in M elbourne, A ustralia, were examined for precautionary labelling between M ay and J uly 2011. Results In total, 1355 products were investigated. Overall, 882 products (65%) had a precautionary statement for one or more allergens. The most common allergens listed on precautionary statements were tree nuts (36.2%) and peanuts (34.1%), followed by sesame (27.5%) and egg (22.6%). Of those that had precautionary statements, ‘May contain traces of …’ was the most common type of precautionary label used on 392 products (29.0%). This was followed by ‘May be present’ on 172 products (12.7%). Conclusions The use of precautionary labelling for peanut, tree nuts and egg remained high. The uptake of the V oluntary I ncidental T race A llergen L abelling ‘May be present’ statement was low in comparison with other precautionary statements, but there has been an increase since 2009.