Roses Jonathan B
Intellectual Property Department at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.
Food Drug Law J. 2011;66(2):225-42, ii.
In 2004, Congress mandated labeling of food allergens on packaged foods for the first time by passing the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA). FALCPA requires that manufacturers of foods containing one of the eight major allergens responsible for 90 percent of food allergies either state on the food's packaging that the food contains the allergen, or refers to the allergen by a name easily understandable by consumers in the ingredients listing. Despite this important first step in protecting consumers with food allergies, FALCPA left unregulated the use of conditional precautionary statements (e.g., "may contain [allergen]"), which many manufacturers have used as a low-cost shield to liability. Further, FALCPA applies only to packaged foods, and does not mandate listing of food allergen ingredients in restaurants. This article discusses the history of food allergen litigation in the United States, highlighting the problems plaintiffs have faced in seeking recovery for allergic reactions to a defendants' food product, and some of the practical difficulties still extant due to the lack of regulation of precautionary statements. Also presented is a review of the Massachusetts Food Allergy Awareness Act, the first state legislation requiring restaurants to take an active role in educating employees and consumers about the presence and dangers of food allergens.
2004年，美国国会通过了《食品过敏原标签和消费者保护法》（FALCPA），首次强制要求对包装食品上的食品过敏原进行标注。FALCPA要求，对于含有导致90%食物过敏的八大主要过敏原之一的食品制造商，要么在食品包装上标明该食品含有该过敏原，要么在配料表中以消费者易于理解的名称提及该过敏原。尽管在保护食物过敏消费者方面迈出了这重要的第一步，但FALCPA并未对有条件的预防性声明（例如“可能含有[过敏原]”）的使用进行规范，许多制造商将其用作低成本的责任盾牌。此外，FALCPA仅适用于包装食品，并未强制要求餐馆列出食品过敏原成分。本文讨论了美国食品过敏原诉讼的历史，强调了原告在寻求因被告食品导致的过敏反应获得赔偿时所面临的问题，以及由于预防性声明缺乏监管而仍然存在的一些实际困难。同时还介绍了马萨诸塞州食品过敏意识法案，这是第一部要求餐馆积极参与教育员工和消费者了解食品过敏原的存在及危害的州立法。
