FSA enhances allergen labelling guidelines for food businesses

Plant base products credit Tesco PLC
Business

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has updated its best practice technical guidance on allergen labelling to ensure the safety of consumers while supporting food businesses.

This guidance aligns with the newly published FDF Change Management of Allergen Information guidance.

Key recommendations from the FSA's updated guidance include:

  1. Limited Precautionary Allergen Labels (PALs): Food businesses should only use a PAL when there's an unavoidable risk of allergen cross-contamination that can't be sufficiently controlled by segregation and cleaning.
  2. Specify Allergen Type: When using PALs, businesses should specify which of the 14 major allergens is involved. For instance, they should use "may contain peanuts" instead of a generic "may contain nuts" statement.
  3. Combine PALs with 'Vegan' Labels: In cases where there's a risk of allergen cross-contamination, businesses should use PAL statements alongside a 'vegan' label. It's important to note that a 'vegan' label conveys different information than a 'free-from' claim, which targets different consumer groups.

The guidance also advises against using a PAL statement alongside a "free from" claim and provides updated best practices for No Gluten Containing Ingredient (NGCI) statements for non-prepacked food businesses.

Plant base products credit Tesco PLC
Plant base products © Tesco PLC

The FSA remains committed to addressing food hypersensitivity as a top priority. Future initiatives include collaborating with international food standards organisations to establish allergen threshold standards and exploring ways to enhance allergen information provision, including potential standardization efforts in this field.

Latest Packaging News

Beverage and liquid food industry gears up for drinktec 2025
Events

Beverage and liquid food industry gears up for drinktec 2025

Preparations for drinktec 2025 are entering their final and most intensive phase. With strong...
Key updates announced for UK's pEPR scheme
Business

Key updates announced for UK's pEPR scheme

PackUK has published several key documents to support the delivery of the UK’s Extended Producer...
Amcor and Cofigeo partner to create multi-compartment tray designed for convenience and sustainability
Supplier News

Amcor and Cofigeo partner to create multi-compartment tray designed for convenience and sustainability

Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, announced it...
Absolut trials 'industry-first' paper cap and bottle combo
Sustainability

Absolut trials 'industry-first' paper cap and bottle combo

Absolut has taken another step in its sustainable packaging journey by trialling an industry-first...
Paramount Packaging Systems: Fast-track flow wrapping solution for leading food producer
Supplier News

Paramount Packaging Systems: Fast-track flow wrapping solution for leading food producer

The challenge When a long-standing food manufacturer experienced the sudden failure of two vital...