The Allergen Bureau's 'Allergen Labelling Exemptions Working Group' is seeking to gain industry views on labelling exemptions.
This is your opportunity to have your say on those allergen exemptions that cause issues for your business, especially when working with global partners, and to provide input into labelling exemptions prioritisation.
You can have your say – only 5 minutes required – by completing this short online survey http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LabellingExemptions (opens in new window). Survey closes Friday, 28 October 2011.
The Allergen Bureau was established in 2005 as an initiative of the Australian Food & Grocery Council Allergen Forum, and operates on a membership basis.
The overall objective of the Allergen Bureau is to share information and experience within the food industry on the management of food allergens to ensure consumers receive relevant, consistent and easy to understand information on food allergens.
Following a call for interested Allergen Bureau members, the 'Allergen Labelling Exemptions Working Group' was formed to consider how allergen labelling exemptions can be progressed in Australia and New Zealand.
There are a number of highly refined food ingredients, additives and processing aids which are derived or prepared from food materials that are themselves or contain allergens from which the allergen component has been effectively removed or denatured. The European Food Safety Agency has advised that a number of these ingredients are unlikely to result in allergic reactions if consumed by sensitive consumers resulting in European allergen labelling regulations incorporating exemptions.
The working group is looking at a way forward to address the lack of international harmonisation as this continues to be a frustration for the food industry. The FSANZ Review of the Regulatory Management of Food Allergens recommended the establishment of a Scientific Committee to advise FSANZ on food allergy related issues, with one of the key areas being labelling exemptions. The working group is currently scoping the extent of the work and is consulting with the wider food industry to understand industry priorities and also to determine industry information to contribute to these activities.
Sources:
http://www.allergenbureau.net/enews-archive/allergen-labelling-exemptions-working-group
http://www.allergenbureau.net/about-us/
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