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FOOD ALLERGEN LABELING GUIDELINES PRESS CONFERENCE
Thursday, May 31, 2001
FAAN PRESS STATEMENT
Good morning, my name is Anne Munoz-Furlong. I am the founder and CEO of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network or FAAN. FAAN is the world's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing public awareness about food allergy and anaphylaxis, providing education, and advancing research on behalf of those affected by food allergies.
FAAN is a membership organization with over 23,000 members across the country. Most of our members are parents of children who have food allergies. For many of these children, just one bite of the wrong food can cause a severe allergic reaction. It is estimated that food allergic reactions result in 30,000 emergency room visits and between 150 to 200 deaths each year.
I participated in the creation of the Food Allergen Labeling Guidelines, providing the consumer's perspective to current food labels. I'd like to share some of these insights with you today.
Food allergies are a health issue affecting close to 7 million Americans. For these individuals and their families, it is imperative that food ingredient labels disclose all of the ingredients in clear and simple language.
When a doctor makes a diagnosis of food allergy, the patient is told to avoid milk, or eggs or wheat. However, our current labels list these foods in a number of scientific or obscure terms including caseinate, albumin, or semolina, respectively. Labels should be written for consumers, not scientists. As one FAAN member put it, "we are not chemists, and neither are Grandma and Grandpa."
Terms such as "natural flavors" are vague and can be dangerous. We have received a number of reports of reactions from products that contain an allergen such as "milk" in their flavor. With current labeling, there is no way the consumer would know that milk is present in the flavor until a reaction occurs.
There is no cure for food allergies. Strict avoidance of the food to which the individual is allergic is the only way to avoid a reaction. These individuals must rely on food labels to keep themselves and their children healthy. Emphasizing once again, that the information on the ingredient statement must be easy to read and understand, and it must be reliable, and consistent.
Some labels are incomplete, confusing, or misleading. In 2000, FAAN conducted a survey of 760 families who are affected by food allergies.
* 4 out of 5 had called manufacturers to get more information about ingredients
* 98% said current labels could not be understood by a 7 year old or a new babysitter
* of particular concern were terms such as may contain--they are at best confusing and at worse misleading.
The explosion in the number of products with "may contain" has undermined the integrity of labels, as doctors and patients begin to wonder if they really should avoid that product. This is akin to playing Russian Roulette.
The proliferation of may contain labeling has also left parents frustrated and children crying because the candy they could eat last week now has a "may contain" label on it and is no longer allowed because the threat of a severe allergic reaction is not worth the risk. Their food options are narrowing every week.
The Food Allergen Labeling Guidelines announced this morning will make a tremendous difference to the close to 7 million children and adults who have food allergies.
Listing ingredients in terms that are familiar to us will allow parents to teach their 7 year olds how to read a label and avoid the food to which they are allergic. The relatives and other care givers of children with food allergies will now be able to read the label and understand the terms they see.
Listing the allergen when it is present even at low levels such as those in natural flavors, will let consumers know that there are no "hidden ingredients" in a product.
The guidelines under which terms such as "may contain" are to be used will level the playing field so that all companies are using the same criteria for determining when and if they should use "may contain" labeling. As a result, consumers and their physicians will be able to trust that when a product says "may contain" or other precautionary labeling statements, it is there to protect the consumer's safety.
While some manufacturers are doing the right thing on behalf of the food-allergic consumer, others have been lagging behind. We look forward to speedy implementation of these guidelines by all manufacturers.
I applaud the members of the Food Allergy Issues Alliance for their concern and dedication to the health and safety of all consumers with food allergies.
Thank you.
 

 

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Last modified on 5/31/01.
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