Labelling

Some allergies are life-threatening – think of peanuts and bee stings – and so it's great news that our labelling laws require common allergens to be stated on food labels. What's not so great is the current confusion surrounding those requirements.

The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code says that a food containing peanuts, tree nuts, milk products, fish, shellfish, eggs, wheat, gluten, sesame seeds, soy, or certain bee products must declare it on the label. This applies even if the ingredient is in the tiniest amounts. Added sulphites must also be declared when they're in concentrations greater than 10mg/kg.

Where this is going wrong is that many manufacturers are putting "may contain" statements on their products – to warn consumers about the potential for cross-contamination associated with products. This doesn't always help consumers, though, because there's no consistent definition for "may contain" statements. Different companies use different risk thresholds to decide when to label a potential allergen. The same statement may not mean the same from company to company.

Some statements are also pointless. For example, a product that states "may contain peanuts" when peanuts are an ingredient.

The food industry says it's between a rock and a hard place. Companies have to choose between guaranteeing a food is free of an allergen, and covering themselves because of the risk of allergen contamination.

Labelling working group

The industry recognises this is a problem and has formed The Allergen Forum Labelling Working Group.

The working group has developed Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen  Labelling (VITAL), a standardised allergen risk assessment tool for food producers. VITAL encourages the consistant application of a single precautionary statement. Food assessed using VITAL will say an allergen "may be present" on the packaging. 

Unfortunately, VITAL is voluntary and there is no logo on products advising if they have been assessed using VITAL. Allergy New Zealand also shares these concerns. We would like the whole food industry to adopt VITAL so consumers get consistent information about contamination risks.

Manufactured food database

Many companies also supply information to the Manufactured Food Database (MFD). The MFD is managed by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority and gives information on the composition of almost 6000 foods. It lists ingredients, additives, the presence or absence of common allergens, and nutrition information.

You can go to the MFD website and check on various foods.

The MFD is updated during the year as new information comes in, and annually through a survey of manufacturers. You still need to check food labels regularly, because manufacturers may change ingredients or manufacturing processes and there may be a delay in updating the MFD.