FDA FOOD ALLERGEN COMPLIANCE POLICY GUIDE “REFLECTS INDUSTRY PRACTICES,” SAYS NFPA

(Washington, D.C.) – Responding to the announcement by the Food and Drug Administration of a compliance policy guide titled “Statement of Policy for Labeling and Preventing Cross-contact of Common Food Allergens,” Dr. Rhona Applebaum, Executive Vice President of the National Food Processors Association (NFPA), made the following comments:

“FDA’s guidance on the issue of labeling and preventing cross-contact of common food allergens reflects current industry practices. Food companies have taken the lead in developing manufacturing practices to help avoid the presence of any unlabeled allergens in food products, as well as ensuring the accuracy of the respective ingredient label in order to identify the presence of allergens. Moreover, the food industry is now working with FDA and with consumer groups on its own set of new labeling guidelines.

“In April, NFPA released an industry ‘Code of Practice’ for managing food allergens. The Code was developed with input not only from NFPA’s member companies but also from the FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, the leading consumer group addressing this issue. FDA’s compliance policy guide is highly consistent with NFPA’s Code of Practice.

“While only a very small percentage of consumers suffer from serious food allergies, the food industry is committed to ensuring that label statements on all food products accurately reflect the ingredients they contain and that effective practices are in place to avoid the presence of inadvertent allergens in foods.”

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NFPA is the voice of the $460 billion food processing industry on scientific and public policy issues involving food safety, nutrition, technical and regulatory matters and consumer affairs. For more information on this issue, contact Timothy Willard, NFPA's Vice President of Communications, at (202) 637-8060, or visit NFPA's Website at http://www.nfpa-food.org/ .