Bimbo Bakeries’ response letter to an FDA warning letter about intentionally adding sesame to its products and falsely listing sesame as an ingredient on products has been revealed by consumer protection groups. In short, the company defended its practice.
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.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS) has revised its instructions to inspection program personnel (IPP) for performing allergen formulation verification.
In this bonus episode of Food Safety Matters, we are joined by two experts from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the agency’s enforcement of allergen requirements for foods, allergen recall trends, and the implications of the FASTER Act officially making sesame a major food allergen.
To address the trend of food manufacturers intentionally adding sesame to food products that did not originally contain the allergen in an attempt to circumvent allergen cross-contact requirements, FDA has updated its draft guidance for industry on hazards analysis and preventive controls with a new chapter on avoiding allergen cross-contact and proper labeling.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a draft Compliance Policy Guide (CPG) for FDA staff on the agency’s enforcement of major food allergen labeling and cross-contact. In response to FDA’s statement about the inclusion of sesame in foods that did not previously contain the allergen, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) expressed its dissatisfaction.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revised the guidance, titled, Labeling of Certain Beers Subject to the Labeling Jurisdiction of FDA, as well as two other guidances, to add “sesame” to the list of major food allergens for labeling purposes.
Food Safety Strategies was recently able to interview FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) CEO Lisa Gable on the FDA's new statement on consideration for sesame allergies.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is issuing a request for information on the prevalence and severity of sesame allergies in the United States to inform possible regulatory action that would require sesame to be labeled as an allergen on packaged foods.
