The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) has been adopted by the US Government and will come into force on 1 January 2006. It is designed to help consumers to easily identify safe and unsafe foods.
The Act requires food labels to identify in plain English if the product contains any of the eight major food allergens responsible for over 90% of all allergic reactions- milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and soybeans. The law covers all food items and additives such as spices, additives, flavorings and colorings which had previously been exempt from allergen labelling.
In addition, it requires that the Food and Drug Administration conduct inspections and issue a report within 18 months to ensure that the food manufacturers comply with practices to reduce or eliminate cross-contact of a food with any major food allergens that are not intentional ingredients of the food.
This labeling will be especially helpful to children who must learn to recognize the presence of substances they must avoid. For example, if a product contains the milk-derived protein casein, the product’s label would have to use the term "milk" in addition to the term "casein" so that those with milk allergies would clearly understand the presence of an allergen they need to avoid.
A study at Mount Sinai School of Medicine demonstrated that after reading a series of labels only 7% of parents of children with milk allergy were able to correctly identify products that contained milk and 22% of parents of children with soy allergy were able to correctly identify products that contain soy.
Recent studies estimate that over 11 million Americans have a food allergy. Over six million are allergic to fish and shellfish alone. Over three million are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts and the number of children with peanut allergy has doubled in the past five years.
The bill will also benefit the estimated 2 million Americans with coeliac disease. The bill calls for the Food and Drug Administration to issue final regulations defining "gluten-free" and permitting the voluntary labeling of products as "gluten-free" no later than 2008. Coeliac disease is an inherited autoimmune disorder that is triggered by eating the protein gluten, which is found in grains, including wheat, rye, and barley.
The new US rules do not go as far as the new EU Directive 2003/89/EC (amending Directive 2000/13/EC) on the indication of ingredients in food. The Directive enters into force in November 2004 and requires food manufacturers to list 12 potentially allergic ingredients. The allergens include cereals containing gluten, fish, crustaceans, eggs, peanuts, soy, milk and dairy products, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame seed, and sulphites. The list of allergenic food ingredients included in Annex IIIa will be reexamined and updated as required, on the basis of the most recent scientific knowledge. The first review must take place before 25 November 2005.
The Directive abolishes the 25% rule for compound ingredients, underlining the principle that all ingredients should be labelled, regardless of the quantity contained in the finished food. The new rules mean these foods will have to be listed clearly on labels whenever they are used in pre-packed foods, including alcoholic drinks. Labels will also need to give clear information about ingredients made from these foods, for example a glaze made from egg.
