allergen labelling update
Allergen labelling rules require that the presence of
certain specified allergenic ingredients must be indicated on
labels whenever they or their derivatives are used as deliberate
ingredients in pre-packed food.
When these requirements were introduced in December 2004,
temporary exemption from allergen labelling was granted to some
ingredients derived from the listed allergens which were highly
processed and considered to have lost their allergenic
properties.
This exemption lasted until November 2007 while the European
Food Safety Authority (EFSA) evaluated the derivatives. Following
EFSA’s assessment a list of permanent exemptions was drawn up and
the European Commission issued a directive which consolidates into
one list the allergenic food ingredients that must be labelled, and
the derivatives of these allergens that are now permanently
excluded from the requirement for labelling as, due to processing,
they no longer contain the allergenic component.
The Food Labelling (Declaration of Allergens) (England)
Regulations 2008 will bring this list of permanent exemptions into
force in England on 31 May 2008.
Transitional arrangements are in place so that food placed on
the market or labelled before 31 May 2009, which is in compliance
with the previous legislation, can continue to be sold until stocks
are exhausted.
The amending regulations can be found at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2008/uksi_20081188_en_1.
