Allergen management and labelling for pre-packed foods

Tuesday 10 November 2009

Best practice guidance on managing food allergens with particular reference to avoiding cross-contamination and using appropriate advisory labelling (e.g. 'May contain' labelling).

This guidance (see link at bottom of page) is voluntary.

Since this guidance was written, the legislation has been amended to increase the list of allergens from 12 to 14 substances, with the addition of lupin and molluscs. The current list is:

1. Cereals containing gluten (i.e. wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut or their hybridised strains), except:
(a) wheat-based glucose syrups including dextrose
(b) wheat-based maltodextrins
(c) glucose syrups based on barley
(d) cereals used for making distillates or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin for spirit drinks and other alcoholic beverages.

2. Crustaceans.

3. Eggs.*

4. Fish, except:
(a) fish gelatine used as a carrier for vitamin or carotenoid preparations
(b) fish gelatine or isinglass used as a fining agent in beer and wine.

5. Peanuts.

6. Soybeans, except:
(a) fully refined soybean oil and fat
(b) natural mixed tocopherols (E306), natural D-alpha tocopherol, natural D-alpha tocopherol acetate, natural D-alpha tocopherol succinate from soybean sources
(c) vegetable oils derived from phytosterols and phytosterol esters from soybean sources
(d) plant stanol ester produced from vegetable oil sterols from soybean sources.

7. Milk* (including lactose), except:
(a) whey used for making distillates or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin for spirit drinks and other alcoholic beverages
(b) lactitol.

8. Nuts, i.e. almonds (Amygdalus communis L.), hazelnuts (Corylus avellana), walnuts (Juglans regia), cashews (Anacardium occidentale), pecan nuts (Carya illinoiesis (Wangenh.) K.Koch), Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa), pistachio nuts (Pistacia vera), macadamia nuts and Queensland nuts (Macadamia ternifolia), except:
nuts used for making distillates or ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin for spirit drinks and other alcoholic beverages.

9. Celery.

10. Mustard.

11. Sesame seeds.

12. Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre expressed as SO2.

13. Lupin.

14. Molluscs.

* There is a temporary exemption from labelling egg-derived lysozyme and for albumin (produced from egg) or milk (casein) products when used as fining agents in wine, in respect of wines that are marked, labelled or sold before 31 December 2010.