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JACI Highlights - July 2007
Hefle et al - Consumer attitudes and risks associated with packaged foods having advisory labeling regarding the presence of peanuts
Food allergy in the U.S. affects an estimated 6 to 8% of infants and young children and 3.5 to 4% of adults. To address this problem, recent U.S. legislation has required labeling of ingredients for packaged foods to disclose the 8 commonly allergenic foods (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts and wheat) and ingredients derived from those sources. However, because of rising consumer interest in the presence or possible presence of such ingredients, many food processors also include advisory labeling information e.g. "may contain" statements. These labeling statements are not required but are increasingly used. In particular, peanut allergy is both a common and frequently severe food allergy. In the July 2007 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Hefle and colleagues report on their work to determine if food-allergic consumers heed advisory labels and if products with "may contain peanuts" advisory labels do contain detectable peanut. They found that food-allergic consumers are increasingly ignoring advisory labeling. The wording of the labeling statement were not found to be related to the likelihood of finding detectable peanut except for products listing peanuts as a minor ingredient, but it did influence the choices of food-allergic consumers. Since 7% of food products bearing peanut allergen advisory labeling do contain detectable levels of peanut in amounts that, in some cases, could cause allergic reactions, peanut-allergic individuals should take care to avoid eating such products. Physicians should advise their peanut-allergic patients to be diligent in reading and heeding advisory labels.
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