December 21, 2005 -- Food Labels Will Carry Allergen Warnings

Effective January 1, 2006, manufacturers of foods are required to state clearly on their labels, “in plain English,” the presence of ingredients that contain protein derived from milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soybeans--substances to which many children and adults are allergic. The federal Food and Drug Administration is requiring the new labeling in line with a law passed by Congress—the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, or FALCPA. Manufacturers do not have to remove from grocery or supermarket shelves products that don’t carry the new information, if the foods were labeled before January 1, so the FDA is cautioning consumers that “there will be a transition period of undetermined length” before the safeguards are fully in place. When they are, the FDA points out, the labels will be especially helpful to children who must learn to recognize the presence of substances they must avoid. It’s estimated 2 percent of adults and about 5 percent of infants and young children suffer from food allergies. More information about the new label requirements is available at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-alrgy.html.