Food allergen labeling requirements

Recent expert consultations conducted within the European Union clearly supported the need to multiply efforts toward establishing allergen thresholds to be used within the context of food labeling. These thresholds would be essential for the implementation and enforcement of allergen labeling requirements and would improve predictability between regulators and regulates. 

TABLE 9.1 Published DNA-Based Methods for Detection of Food Allergens and Gluten-Containing Cereals Requiring Labeling... 

The amendment removed labeling exemptions for allergens in spices, flavorings, colors, and food additives, and also requiring all packaged foods to declare the major food allergens or their protein derivatives. In the United States, the major food allergens include ... 

The law requires that food labels identify the food source of aU major food allergens. Unless the food source of a major food allergen is part of the ingredient s common or usual name (or is already identified in the ingredient list), it mustbe included in one of two ways. 

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