title: Comparison of international food allergen labeling regulations.
abstract: Food allergy is a significant public health issue worldwide. Regulatory risk management strategies for allergic consumers have focused on providing information about the presence of food allergens through label declarations. A number of countries and regulatory bodies have recognized the importance of providing this information by enacting laws, regulations or standards for food allergen labeling of "priority allergens". However, different governments and organizations have taken different approaches to identifying these "priority allergens" and to designing labeling declaration regulatory frameworks. The increasing volume of the international food trade suggests that there would be value in supporting sensitive consumers by harmonizing (to the extent possible) these regulatory frameworks. As a first step toward this goal, an inventory of allergen labeling regulations was assembled and analyzed to identify commonalities, differences, and future needs.
authors.affiliation: Food Allergen Coordinator, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740, USA. steven.gendel@fda.hhs.gov
authors.forename: Steven M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Gendel
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000009:adverse effects*; D003257:Consumer Product Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005515:Food Labeling / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence* / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D033161:Government Regulation; D007391:International Cooperation; D007881:Legislation, Food / Q000145:classification / Q000639:trends; D012308:Risk Management
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens