Allergen Labeling on Food Packaging to Be Mandatory Next Year: Prepackaged Food Rules

China National Radio’s “CNR News” reports that some consumers develop allergic reactions after eating, with the cause being “allergens” in food that they do not recognize. Under the General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods, which took effect in 2012, food packaging must carry allergen labeling starting next year.

In supermarkets today, some products already show allergens on-pack, but the format and wording differ widely. Imported foods often state within ingredient information that they contain allergy-triggering components. A breakfast cereal made in the UK, for example, notes that it is “not suitable for people with peanut sensitivity, contains traces of other nuts and milk.” Domestic brands also provide more detailed allergen information: White Rabbit Creamy Candy’s packaging identifies “dairy products” as an allergen. Some sandwich biscuits not only list several allergens contained in the product but also warn that the same production line processes items with wheat, egg, peanut and other ingredients.

Yet many allergen warnings use vague terms and inconsistent labeling, leaving consumers confused. One coffee powder, for instance, simply states beside the ingredient column in the same font that it contains milk and soy, without explaining that these are allergenic substances. Unless shoppers pay close attention, they cannot tell, so the warning has little effect. Even more concerning, allergen notices on many children’s foods are highly inadequate.

Starting next year, allergen labeling will be enforced. The General Rules for the Labeling of Prepackaged Foods lists eight categories of products that may trigger allergies: gluten-containing grains and their products, such as wheat, rye and barley; crustaceans and their products, such as shrimp, lobster and crab; fish and their products; eggs and their products; peanuts and their products; soybeans and their products; milk and dairy products, including lactose; and nuts and their products. For allergenic substances, the rules explicitly state that if the above foods or products may be introduced during processing, an easily recognizable name should be used in the ingredient list, or an important notice should be placed nearby.

Source note: China Packaging Network (pack.cn); original link: http://news.pack.cn/show-361997.html