Food Allergen Labeling Making the Change January 25, 2005

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Food Allergen Labeling Making the
ChangeJanuary 25, 2005

• Michelle Albee Matto
• Manager, Regulatory Affairs
• International Dairy Foods Association

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Food Allergens

• Fact and Fiction of Food Allergies
• Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection
  Act of 2004
• Labeling Exercise

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Type of Sensitivities to Foods

• Non-immunological
• Idiosyncratic reactions
• Metabolic food disorders
• Immunological

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Idiosyncratic Reactions
Food Symptom Chocolate Migraine
Headaches Tartrazine Asthma Sulfiting
Agents Asthma Food Colors Hyperkinesis MSG
Various Symptoms
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Metabolic Disorders

• Food component has an unusual effect on hosts
  normal metabolism
• Unable to metabolize a food component
• Lactose intolerance
• Deficiency of intestinal lactase
• Symptoms abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhea
• Ultimately affects 60-90 in some ethnic groups

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Immunological Sensitivities

• Celiac disease (celiac sprue)
• Symptoms malabsorption
• Wheat, rye, barley, triticale and sometimes oats
• True food allergy
• Production of specific antibodies
• Antibodies cause a release of cellular chemicals
  which produces allergic reaction

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Persons Reporting Food AllergyFood Allergy
Center, 1998
Food Individuals Dairy 40.1 Seafood
21.9 Vegetables 19.9 Fruits 19.7 Chocola
te 11.1 Nuts 8.8 Meat/Poultry 6.7 Whe
at 3.7 Spices 2.0 Sugar 1.7 MSG
1.7 Food dyes 1.6 Alcoholic
beverages 1.6 Sulfites 1.5
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Prevalence of True Food Allergies

• Infants 4-6
• Young children 1-2
• Adults

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Food Allergies Prevalence
90 Peanut Tree nuts Milk Egg Soy Fish Shellfish
Wheat
10 Hundreds of others
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How Consumers Manage a Food Allergy

• Avoid offending food
• Label education and diligent reading
• Brand loyalty

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Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection
Act of 2004
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Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

• Signed into law by President Bush in August 2004
• Labeling must be implemented by January 1, 2006
  (products packaged on or after January 1, 2006)

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Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

• Must label ingredients that contain protein from
  the major food alllergens
• Milk Eggs
• Fish Crustacean shellfish (e.g., shrimp)
• Wheat Peanuts
• Soy Tree nuts (e.g., walnuts)
• Must use plain English name of allergen
• For fish, shellfish or tree nuts, use specific
  species name (e.g., cod, crab or hazelnut)
• Must label allergenic ingredients, even if
  usually exempted from declaration (e.g.,
  incidental additive)

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Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

• Two methods of labeling
• Contains statement immediately adjacent to
  ingredient statement.
• Example Contains milk, egg and wheat
• Follow allergenic ingredient in ingredient
  statement with name of allergen in parentheses.
• Exemptions if allergen name already appears in
  name of ingredient (milk chocolate) or appeared
  earlier in ingredient statement
• Example Milkfat and nonfat milk, flour
  (wheat),natural flavor (soy)

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Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

• CURRENT LABEL
• Ingredients skim milk and milkfat, sugar, flour,
  brown sugar, eggs, butter, soybean oil, chocolate
  liquor, coconut oil, vanilla extract, cocoa, guar
  gum, salt, cocoa butter, lecithin, carageenan and
  natural flavors.
• Per supplier, natural flavor contains walnut

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Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection
ActNew Label(Use one of two options)

• Ingredients skim milk and milkfat, sugar, flour
  (wheat), brown sugar, eggs, butter, soybean oil,
  chocolate liquor, coconut oil, vanilla extract,
  cocoa, guar gum, salt, cocoa butter, lecithin
  (soy), carageenan, natural flavors (walnut).

• Ingredients skim milk and milkfat, sugar,
  flour, brown sugar, eggs, butter, soybean oil,
  chocolate liquor, coconut oil, vanilla extract,
  cocoa, guar gum, salt, cocoa butter, lecithin,
  carageenan and natural flavors.
• Contains milk, wheat, eggs, soybean and walnut.

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Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

• Points to remember
• Under the law, highly refined oils are not
  considered allergens
• If declaration is required under NLEA
  regulations, the oil must still appear in
  ingredient statement. But, the oil does not have
  to be labeled as allergens.
• Ingredients can be exempted from allergenic
  status by petition or FDA determination
• No minimum level of allergen required for
  labeling
• Law is silent on issue of may contains and
  similar advisory statements

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Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

• According to the new law, FDA must
• Report on allergen inspections
• Develop regulations for gluten free labeling
• Research may contain labeling

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Food Allergy Issues Alliance

• Food Allergen Labeling Guidelines
• Used as industry guidance for labeling
• Updating to reflect requirements of new law
• Criteria for may contain statements
• Available on IDFA website

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Food Allergen Labeling Guidelines

• Supplemental Allergen Statements
• Use may contain or other notation judiciously
  and ONLY where all four criteria are met
• In situations where
• Presence of allergen is documented
• Presence is unavoidable when GMPs are followed
• Presence is sporadic in some product but not
  all
• Potentially hazardous
• Not a substitute for GMPs
• Voluntary

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Industry Activities

• IDFA
• Web Information www.idfa.org
• Guidance for the Dairy Industry for Controlling
  Cross Contamination and Proper Labeling of Food
  Allergens - 2003
• Personal Assistance on Labeling Questions

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Labeling Exercise
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Peanut Butter Cup Milk

• Ingredients Reduced fat milk, sugar, cocoa
  (processed with alkali), peanut butter syrup
  (high fructose corn syrup, peanut butter, natural
  flavors), dextrose, corn starch, carrageenan,
  vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D3.

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Blueberry Yogurt

• Ingredients Cultured pasteurized Grade A lowfat
  milk, sugar, blueberries, nonfat milk, high
  fructose corn syrup, modified corn starch,
  natural flavor, gelatin, citrate and phosphoric
  acid.

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Sundae Cone Ice Cream

• Ingredients milkfat and nonfat milk, sugar,
  fudge swirl (sugar, skim milk, corn syrup, cream,
  water, cocoa processed with alkali, bitter
  chocolate, modified tapioca starch, sodium
  alginate, natural flavor, salt), chocolaty coated
  peanuts (peanuts, sugar partially hydrogenated
  palm kernel oil, cocoa processed with alkali,
  salt, lecithin, natural flavor), chocolaty dipped
  waffle cone pieces (chocolaty coating powdered
  sugar (sugar, corn starch), coconut oil, cocoa
  processed with alkali, cocoa, butter oil, salt,
  lecithin, natural flavor, waffle cone pieces
  flour, sugar, soybean oil, salt lecithin,
  coconut oil), corn syrup, natural flavor,
  cellulose gum, mono and diglycerides, guar gum,
  carrageenan, annatto color, dextrose.

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Garden Vegetable Cheese Spread

• Ingredients Cream Cheese and Neufchatel Cheeses
  (Pasteurized Milk and Cream, Cheese Cultures,
  Salt, Carob Bean Gum), Soybean Oil, Water, High
  Fructose Corn Syrup, Vinegar, Dehydrated
  Vegetables (Bell Peppers, Carrots, Onion,
  Celery), Modified Food Starch, Egg Yolk Solids,
  Salt, Hydrolyzed Corn and Wheat Gluten,
  Monosodium Glutamate, Dextrose, Sorbic Acid (to
  Protect Flavor), Xanthan Gum, Spices, Garlic,
  Natural Flavor, Mustard Flour, Calcium Disodium
  EDTA (Protects Flavor)

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QUESTIONS ?