From now on, food manufacturers must clearly label their products if they contain any of 12 major allergens. But does the new law go far enough to protect those suffering from severe allergic reactions? Donal Conaty reports
The Irish Anaphylaxis Campaign (IAC) has welcomed new EU labelling regulations which compel food manufacturers to clearly indicate the presence of 12 major allergens in pre-packed food.
The regulations, which came into force on November 25th, state that the following food allergens must always be labelled: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts (which include almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pistachios, pecans and brazils), celery and celeriac, mustard, sesame seeds, milk and sulphites at concentrations of over 10 parts per million.
Anaphylaxis is the medical condition suffered by people with often life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods. There are few statistics available on how many Irish people suffer from the condition but the IAC says it has 800 people on its database and up to 8 per cent of pre-school children in Ireland suffer from food allergies
Although welcoming the move, the IAC was disappointed that it covers only ingredients added intentionally and not traces of an ingredient present due to cross-contamination.
"We certainly welcome the new laws but we still have a problem with cross-contamination whereby manufacturers state 'may contain traces of nut' on the label," says Lorraine Mooney of the IAC. She says the possibility of cross-contamination should not be allowed to exist.
The legislation removes the 25 per cent rule on compound ingredients which meant food manufacturers didn't have to put small amounts of an ingredient on labels. The new rules also require more detailed ingredient labelling in general, so that food allergens other than the 12 listed will have to be labelled, although not in every single case.
Although the regulations are now in force, any products labelled before November 25th 2005 will be allowed to remain on shop shelves until the end of their shelf life. The regulations apply only to packaged food - freshly prepared foods and loose foods from bakeries, delicatessens and restaurants are not covered.
The EC has made it clear that the list will be reviewed and other allergens may be added if clear evidence emerges that they cause problems. Molluscs, kiwi fruit, chestnuts, lupin and pine nuts are among the possible candidates for future inclusion on the list.
The regulations also compel alcoholic beverage manufacturers to state whether any of the 12 major allergens are present in drinks that contain more than 1.2 per cent alcohol.
They also extend to cover ingredients derived from the 12 allergens such as peanut oil. Although some highly processed derivatives are no longer allergenic, the EC has put the onus on food manufacturers to provide scientific evidence that an ingredient is safe before making it exempt from compulsory labelling.
As a result, refined peanut oil will now have to be labelled although many medical experts consulted by the Anaphylaxis Campaign in the UK believe it is unlikely to cause a problem.
The European Food Safety Authority has given a temporary exemption to the derived ingredients listed in the panel. The exemption will be reviewed in November 2007 following further studies.