Food Labels Now Include

Allergy Information

HARTFORD — Effective January 1 consumers will benefit from a new federal requirement that mandates food labels to clearly state if food products contain protein derived from eight major allergenic foods, Consumer Protection Commissioner Edwin R. Rodriquez said.

“To safeguard public health, the Food and Drug Administration is now requiring food label in plain English, the presence of ingredients that contain protein derived from milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soybeans,” Mr Rodriquez said. “This information will be especially helpful to families with children who must learn to avoid certain food substances.”

For example, if a product contains casein, a milk-derived protein, the product label will now have to include the term “milk” in addition to the term “casein” so that persons with milk allergies can clearly understand the presence of the allergen they need to avoid.

An estimated two percent of adults and five percent of infants and young children in the United States suffer from food allergies. Approximately 30,000 consumers require emergency room treatment and 150 Americans die each year because of allergic reactions to food.

The new Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act does not require food manufacturers or retailers to relabel or remove from grocery or supermarket shelves products that do not currently have the new allergen labeling, as long as those products were labeled before January 1 of 2006, Mr Rodriguez said. As products are sold, however, they will be replaced with new food items that bear the correct labels.

“There will be a transition period during which consumers will still see packaged food on store shelves without the revised allergen labeling,” Mr Rodriquez said. “However, these will gradually disappear, as Department of Consumer Protection Food Inspectors actively monitor manufacturer compliance with the new requirements for products labeled after January 1. As always, consumers who have complaints or questions about mislabeled products are encourage to notify us in writing.”