Recent Allergen Bureau submissions

As mentioned elsewhere in this issue of eNews, the Allergen Bureau is increasingly being called upon to provide input into state and national food policy. The following are brief excerpts from two of our recent submissions. The full submissions are available to Full Member Companies via the ‘Members Only’ section of the Allergen Bureau website.

Allergen Bureau submission on the Draft Assessment Report to P290 Standard 3.3.2 - Food Safety Programs for Catering Operations.

The Allergen Bureau notes that Standard 1.2.3 places an obligation on a caterer, in the absence of labels on the food being served, to advise the consumer/purchaser of the presence of allergens either by point of sale signage or verbally in response to a request for information. The Allergen Bureau suggests that a clause or editorial note be included within the body of the proposed Standard 3.3.2 to draw the attention of caterers to the obligations imposed upon them by Standard 1.2.3 and require either the development of a specific allergen management plan or the consideration of allergens as potential hazards within the caterer’s food safety program.

Allergen Bureau submission on the Therapeutic Goods Agency (TGA) review of requirements for the labelling of medicines.

Many medicines contain excipients derived from the key allergenic substances or produced in facilities where these allergens are present. Many consumers are likely to be unaware of the potential presence of allergens in medicines, especially in products that do not carry a full ingredient listing. The Allergen Bureau therefore proposes to the TGA that it would be consistent with the risk management strategy applied to food products in Australia to apply similar mandatory labelling declaration requirements for the above named allergens in all medicines.