A recent sampling assignment conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Pennsylvania and Michigan found milk in 6.2 percent of dark chocolate and chocolate-containing products labeled as “dairy-free,” although all positive samples were also labeled with an allergen advisory statement.
A recent study explored how the use of uniform, threshold-based precautionary allergen labeling could increase food safety for allergic consumers, as well as enhance the number of foods available to them on the market.
USDA has released an updated guideline to strengthen animal-raising and environment-related label claims on meat and poultry products, such as “raised without antibiotics.” Due to specific concern over negative antibiotic claims, USDA may undertake future sampling and rulemaking to ensure label claims are truthful.
Beginning in September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) will implement a new sampling program to verify allergen label claims on ready-to-eat (RTE) foods.
An innovative seal detection software has been developed by Ravenwood for its VXR® Vision Pack Inspection System—an end-of-line solution for analyzing contaminants and ensuring flawless linerless labels.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has sent a warning letter to Bimbo Bakeries USA Inc. for listing “contains” statements for major food allergens on the labels of products that do not actually contain the listed allergens. The warning letter follows an FDA statement denouncing a trend of food manufacturers attempting to circumvent allergen cross-contamination requirements by exploiting loopholes around “may contain” label statements.
West Virginia passed a bill known as the Truth in Food Labeling Act, restricting the language that can be used on labels for cell-based meats, plant-based meat alternatives, and other “analogue products,” such as insect-based foods. The bill awaits the Governor’s signature.
New food allergen labeling requirements recently came into effect in Australia and New Zealand. A guidance for industry has been published to help manufacturers, importers, and retailers with compliance.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) is launching an educational campaign to address widespread misconceptions about “vegan” versus “free-from” labels and raise awareness about precautionary allergen labeling.
The French government has issued a decree that would ban the use of “meaty” descriptor terms for plant-based meat alternative products produced in the country, with the aim of tackling misleading food labels.
