Taylor Steve L, Hefle Sue L
University of Nebraska, Food Allergy Research & Resource Program, Lincoln, Nebraska 68583-0919, USA.
Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2006 Jun;6(3):186-90. doi: 10.1097/01.all.0000225158.75521.ad.
The ingredient statement on the label of packaged foods is an important source of information for food-allergic consumers. New legislation in the USA and European Union will increase the amount of information available to food-allergic consumers.
The USA has implemented the Food Allergen Labeling & Consumer Protection Act, which mandates use of clear labeling and source labeling of ingredients derived from commonly allergenic sources. Similarly, the European Union is implementing new regulations that mandate the source labeling of ingredients derived from commonly allergenic foods and fuller disclosure of allergenic food components, even when present in small amounts. The food industry is providing consumers with information relating to the presence of allergenic residues by adding voluntary advisory statements, such as 'may contain peanuts'.
Food-allergic consumers are advised to follow specific strict avoidance diets that exclude allergenic foods and ingredients derived from these foods. Thus individuals must avoid potentially hazardous residues of the allergenic food that might occur as the result of common practices in the food industry. The ingredient statement on packaged food labels now contains more information than ever before.
包装食品标签上的成分声明是食物过敏消费者重要的信息来源。美国和欧盟的新立法将增加可供食物过敏消费者获取的信息量。
美国已实施《食物过敏原标签与消费者保护法案》，该法案要求对源自常见致敏源的成分使用清晰标签和来源标签。同样，欧盟正在实施新法规，要求对源自常见致敏食物的成分进行来源标签标注，并更全面地披露致敏食物成分，即使其含量很少。食品行业通过添加自愿性警示声明，如“可能含有花生”，向消费者提供有关致敏残留物存在情况的信息。
建议食物过敏消费者遵循特定的严格回避饮食，排除致敏食物及源自这些食物的成分。因此，个人必须避免食品工业常见操作可能产生的致敏食物潜在有害残留物。包装食品标签上的成分声明现在包含了比以往更多的信息。
