title: Precautionary labelling of foods for allergen content: are we ready for a global framework?
abstract: Food allergy appears to be on the rise with the current mainstay of treatment centred on allergen avoidance. Mandatory allergen labelling has improved the safety of food for allergic consumers. However an additional form of voluntary labelling (termed precautionary allergen labelling) has evolved on a wide range of packaged goods, in a bid by manufacturers to minimise risk to customers, and the negative impact on business that might result from exposure to trace amounts of food allergen present during cross-contamination during production. This has resulted in near ubiquitous utilisation of a multitude of different precautionary allergen labels with subsequent confusion amongst many consumers as to their significance. The global nature of food production and manufacturing makes harmonisation of allergen labelling regulations across the world a matter of increasing importance. Addressing inconsistencies across countries with regards to labelling legislation, as well as improvement or even banning of precautionary allergy labelling are both likely to be significant steps forward in improved food safety for allergic families. This article outlines the current status of allergen labelling legislation around the world and reviews the value of current existing precautionary allergen labelling for the allergic consumer. We strongly urge for an international framework to be considered to help roadmap a solution to the weaknesses of the current systems, and discuss the role of legislation in facilitating this.
authors.affiliation: Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Department of Allergy and Immunology, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.|Department of Paediatrics, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Australia.|Institute of Inflammation and Repair, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: Katrina J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: Section of Paediatrics, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, MRC and Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, Imperial College London, London, UK.|Division of Paediatrics & Child Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy, Department of Pediatrics, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5, Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Ruby
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pawankar
authors.affiliation: Food Allergy Research & Resource Program, Department of Food Science & Technology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sicherer
authors.affiliation: Division of Asthma, Allergy and Lung Biology, MRC and Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma, King's College London, London, UK.|Children's Allergy Unit, Guy's and St. Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK.
authors.forename: Gideon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lack
authors.affiliation: University of Parana, Curitiba, Brazil.
authors.forename: Nelson
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rosario
authors.affiliation: Department of Allergy, Clinical Research Center for Allergy and Rheumatology, Sagamihara National Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Motohiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ebisawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Paediatrics and School of Public Health, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Institute of Inflammation and Repair, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
authors.forename: E N Clare
authors.initials: ENC
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Pneumology and Immunulogy, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.affiliation: Hospital Bambino Gesù, Vatican City, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fiocchi
authors.affiliation: Division of Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Hugh A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Sampson
keywords: Allergen avoidance; Allergen labelling; Anaphylaxis; Food allergy; Legislation; Mandatory labelling; Precationary allergen labelling