Truth in Labeling: Can the FDA Improve Allergen Warnings?


Pick up a bag of Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels. Under the list of ingredients—sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milk fat, and soy lecithin—you’ll find this phrase: Made in a facility that also processes peanuts.

Seeing this warning for the first time after our son Graeme was diagnosed with multiple food allergies scared the hell out of me. Is there wheat in his oatmeal? Could a peanut be lurking in his yogurt-covered raisins? Even a minuscule amount of the wrong allergen could send him into anaphylactic shock.

As disturbing as it was to see the label for the first time, I was astonished to discover that food manufacturers print such warnings voluntarily. But soon they may be required to do so.

On September 16, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will hold its first public hearing on whether current food-allergy labeling, which only mandates disclosing actual ingredients, is effective. The agency will consider whether to add cross-contamination labeling. While advocacy and food-packaging groups will certainly be center stage at the hearing, the rest of us can submit comments through the government’s regulatory website.

This issue may sound like an example of overreaction and overregulation—like asking restaurants to do away with peanuts. But it’s not. For people with food allergies, cross contamination can cause serious harm even if the offending allergen is very, very small. (My son can react if someone is frying food in peanut oil—even when he’s not in the kitchen.)

There are no studies that indicate how frequently those with food allergies are injured by the inadvertent incorporation of allergens into other foods, but the FDA says food-allergy reactions cause an estimated 30,000 emergency department visits every year in the United States.

Could that number be lowered if food-allergy language—like that on the chocolate chip bag—is made mandatory? The current labels, while a drastic improvement over prior efforts, make a trip to the grocery store part detective mystery (”Would they handle peanuts in the same factory where they manufacture refried beans?”), part Russian roulette (”Oh well, these crackers look OK“).

I’ve been scrutinizing food labels for five months now, and I am grateful for manufacturers who share as much information on their labels as possible. Still, the labeling is inconsistent. The wording on Nestle’s bag of chocolate chips reads like a lawyer’s warning. And what does “in the same facility” mean versus “on the same equipment,” as some labels warn? As a parent on a tight budget, could I safely purchase the latter product for my son over more expensive chocolate chips made in an allergen-free factory?

So it’s not just a matter of warning people, it’s a matter of consistency and clarity. If the FDA isn’t specific enough with its labeling requirements, there could be allergen warnings that are useless in their generality and ubiquity.

As I squint at labels over the next few months (comments are due to the FDA by January 14), I’ll be keeping track of what’s really helpful on labels and what’s just irritatingly confusing to me, as a parent trying to keep my kid safe. And then I’ll give the FDA an earful. Want to join me?

(PHOTO: ISTOCKPHOTO)
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