Canadian allergen labels to be revised by August 2012

The food industry has until 4th August 2012 to comply with Canada's new requirements for labelling food allergens and gluten. The revisions to previous regulations mean foods sold in Canada will soon have clearer allergen labelling than that currently required.

The changes mean manufacturers will need to clearly identify food allergens, gluten sources and sulphites present at 10ppm or more, either in the list of ingredients or at the end of the list of ingredients in a 'Contains' statement. The food allergen or gluten source must be provided in commonly used language, for example 'wheat' rather than 'spelt' and 'milk' rather than 'caseinate'. In addition, mustard seed has been added to the list of food allergens that must be declared on product labels if present. The regulations will also require manufacturers to list food allergens, gluten sources or sulphites if they are present as components of ingredients.

If a food allergen is present in wine and spirits as a result of the use of fining agents from eggs, fish or milk, the allergen source must be shown on the label of the pre-packaged product, and the source of any allergen or gluten present in a wax coating or its compounds will be required to be shown on the label of pre-packaged fruits and vegetables.

A full description of the Canadian food allergen and gluten labelling requirements can be found on the Health Canada website.