Allergens Review Update

by Hikmat Hayder and Luisa Trevisan, FSANZ

The ANZ Food Regulation Ministerial Council requested that FSANZ conduct a review of the regulatory management of food allergens. In response to this, in March 2008 FSANZ released an issues paper for targeted consultation throughout Australia and New Zealand.

Those receiving the paper included: Food industry representative bodies including the AFGC, NZFGC, and the Allergen Bureau; Jurisdictions; Allergy support groups including Anaphylaxis Australia Inc, The Coeliac Society, and Allergy New Zealand; and Allergy and Immunology specialists such as ASCIA. Nineteen submissions were received in response to the paper.

Issues to be considered in the review include: the requirements for label information presentation and clarity; terminology and definitions of the current list of allergens plus consideration of new allergens such as lupin; exemptions for specified derivatives of allergenic products; allergen thresholds; and international research in progress.

To inform the review, a second quantitative consumer survey on allergen labelling will be carried out. This follows on from the benchmarking survey that was carried out in 2003. The aim of the follow-up survey is to gain insight on how consumers currently view label information in relation to allergens, compared to 2003. To enable valid comparison of results, the follow-up survey will replicate the methodology of the one conducted in 2003.

More information about the surveys and the food labelling review can be found in the FSANZ presentation