Food Allergy Labels Helpful, but May Not Tell The Whole Story

Study Results:

• The new labeling laws have resulted in stronger consumer satisfaction.
• Unregulated allergen statements may, increasingly, be ignored.
• The food allergic consumer does not as yet understand the full details of the food allergen labeling laws as it pertains to food regulated by the FDA and not the www.usda.gov USDA (that would be raw meat, fruits and vegetables).

The researchers provided these suggestions to further improve consumer confidence:

• Create standards for the voluntary cautionary statements.
• Consider adding additional allergens beyond the top 8 (like seeds and spices).
• Require companies to maintain toll-free information hotlines and list those numbers on their food labels (food allergic consumers found toll-free information hot lines more useful than company Web sites, according to the survey results)