UK Anaphylaxis Campaign launches standard for food allergen control

Monday, 17 March 2008 18:53

The UK-based consumer group, Anaphylaxis Campaign, has launched a standard for allergen control which intends to promote high quality management of allergens leading to reduction of risk for food companies and an accurate communication of risk to consumers. The charity hopes to launch the opportunity for certification with the standard. Any manufacturer meeting the recommendations for allergen control would be able to carry a logo that does not claim the product is allergen free, but that all necessary measures have been taken to prevent contamination.

The Anaphylaxis Campaign has raised concerns about the use of 'free from' allergen claims in the light of increasingly sensitive allergen detection methods. They maintain that laboratory testing methods can now detect even miniscule traces of an allergen in products, even when the level is too small to be a problem.

Current European legislation does not provide thresholds for companies claiming 'free from' for their products, whereas in Australia and New Zealand, all ‘free from’ claims must be supported by evidence of ‘no detectable level’ of the allergen, using standard, industry-recognised detection methods.