Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research, Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, Department of Academic General Pediatrics, Chicago, Ill.
Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research, Institute for Public Health and Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill.
J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2021 Jan;9(1):254-264.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2020.09.022. Epub 2020 Sep 29.
Food allergy (FA) is an increasing public health concern in the United States, affecting approximately 8% of children and 11% of adults. The United States currently lacks clear requirements for the use of precautionary allergen labeling (PAL) on packaged foods, such as "may contain" or "made on shared equipment." This lack of specific governmental policy results in inconsistent labeling practices and confusion.
This study aimed to understand current knowledge and preferences for PAL statements among FA stakeholders.
A cross-sectional survey was sent to FA stakeholders. Descriptive statistics and associations from logistic regressions were used to assess respondents' knowledge of PAL policy, shopping habits, and preferences around PAL.
Of 3008 respondents, 24.2% were able to correctly answer 4 questions surrounding PAL policies. When asked about their shopping habits, the majority of respondents never purchase products with a "May contain traces of allergen" label (85.5%) in comparison with never purchasing products with a "Good manufacturing practices used to segregate ingredients in a facility that also processes allergen" label (35.0%). Their top preferences for a PAL statement were "Not suitable for people with 'blank' allergy" (29.3%) and "May contain" (22.1%). Health care provider discussions around PAL varied and were strongly associated with purchasing behaviors.
These results suggest that FA consumers are not aware of PAL policies and make decisions based on the words in the PAL. They prefer having clearer, more specific, and consistent labeling on products, indicating that explicit PAL policies are needed to allow customers to easily identify safe foods.
食物过敏（FA）是美国日益严重的公共卫生问题，影响约 8%的儿童和 11%的成年人。美国目前对包装食品使用预防性过敏原标签（PAL）没有明确要求，例如“可能含有”或“在共用设备上生产”。这种缺乏具体政府政策的情况导致标签实践不一致和混乱。
本研究旨在了解 FA 利益相关者对 PAL 声明的现有知识和偏好。
向 FA 利益相关者发送了一份横断面调查。使用描述性统计和逻辑回归关联来评估受访者对 PAL 政策、购物习惯和 PAL 偏好的了解。
在 3008 名受访者中，24.2%的人能够正确回答围绕 PAL 政策的 4 个问题。当被问及他们的购物习惯时，与从不购买带有“可能含有微量过敏原”标签的产品（85.5%）相比，大多数受访者从不购买带有“在加工过敏原的设施中使用良好生产规范来隔离成分”标签的产品（35.0%）。他们对 PAL 声明的首选是“不适合有‘空白’过敏的人”（29.3%）和“可能含有”（22.1%）。卫生保健提供者围绕 PAL 的讨论各不相同，并且与购买行为密切相关。
这些结果表明，FA 消费者不知道 PAL 政策，并根据 PAL 中的字词做出决策。他们更喜欢在产品上使用更清晰、更具体和更一致的标签，这表明需要明确的 PAL 政策，以便客户能够轻松识别安全食品。
