Investigation on the allergen claims of pre-packaged food in China

Abstract

Objective To investigate the current status of allergen claims in the label of prepackaged foods in China, and to provide suggestions for the revision of the General Rules for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods. Methods Sampling or photographing was performed in large and medium-sized supermarkets across the country, allergen claims information on pre-packaged food were collected, various food allergen claims were analyzed. Results A total of 8 694 samples were included. The overall identification rate of allergen claims was 21.58% (1 876/8 694). The percentage of foods containing allergens claims in bakery foods was the highest (65.73%, 468/712). Among the allergens, the highest rate of claims was milk and dairy (17.09%, 1 486/8 694). The most frequent claims were "may contain", "this streamline also produces", "this processing equipment also produces", and "this plant also processes" which indicated the presence of cross-contaminations, and those claims were mainly in bakery foods, puffed foods, grains and their products. Conclusion There were many types of food allergens in pre-packaged foods in China. The use of allergen claim was not standardized, and their were too many cross-contamination claims. In general, allergen claims were widely used in food products and should become the focus of allergens management in China