Firms asked to reply to ‘May Contain’ consultation by March deadline

The Food Standards Agency is encouraging businesses to reply to the ‘May Contain’ consultation by the March deadline.

Nuala Meehan, Food Standards Lead in Safety & Regulatory Compliance, said the agency wanted to hear from businesses in the retail, catering and manufacturing sectors in particular about the challenges it causes them.

Precautionary Allergen Labelling is a voluntary statement – meaning it’s not legally required – that food businesses can choose to apply to food products where there is a risk of allergen cross contamination.

You will most likely see it on some foods as “may contain allergen x” or “not suitable for someone with a certain allergy”, for example.

Sometimes this information is given verbally by staff or using a poster or sign on business premises.

This information should only be used where there is a real risk of allergen cross contamination which cannot be prevented through careful risk management.

For example, in a small kitchen where multiple foods are prepared and a risk assessment has found that the risk cannot be sufficiently controlled.

The FSA said it understood that the majority of food businesses that use precautionary allergen labels are doing it to protect people with a food allergy, intolerance, or coeliac disease.

But it also knows that businesses are confused about when they should use precautionary allergen labelling and want clarity on the controls needed to remove or minimise the risk of allergen cross-contamination.

The FSA says it needs to hear more from businesses that use precautionary allergen labelling so that they can tell it about the issues faced.

This matters to consumers too. Whilst people with a food hypersensitivity appreciate precautionary allergen information when it clearly tells them about an unavoidable risk of allergen cross-contamination, they can be confused by the range of precautionary labelling statements currently being used and this inconsistency can lead to a lack of trust in labels and prevents them from being able to enjoy certain foods.

The responses to the consultation will help the FSA consider future approaches for precautionary allergen information ensuring that the law is clear and easy to follow for businesses, and is clear, consistent and understood by consumers.

It also wants to ensure the circumstances in which precautionary allergen information is used is based on a proportionate and standardised process for assessing, managing, and telling consumers about the risk of allergen cross-contamination.

The FSA said it was clear that whilst any solution must keep consumers safe without unnecessarily limiting their food choice, it has to be workable for food businesses.

The consultation was an opportunity for businesses to have their say on what the answer should be, it said.

The consultation is open to local authority food teams, healthcare professionals, allergy charities, consumers and any other interested parties, in addiction to food businesses.

The consultation is a questionnaire making it easy for people to respond.

n Share your views at www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/consultations/precautionary-allergen-labelling-pal-the-may-contain-consultation