|
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is
an excellent source of basic information on dairy allergies, intolerances,
and nutritional considerations. Here is an article recently
published by the FDA about the labeling of foods containing dairy
products.
FDA Consumer magazine
July-August 2001 Volume 35, Number 4
Observations
By Anne Muñoz-Furlong
Imagine that your doctor just gave you the following diagnosis: "You
are allergic to milk. Go home and avoid milk." Sounds easy? It is, until
you go home and actually try to avoid milk products.
Currently, there is no cure for food allergies. Strict avoidance of the
allergy-causing food is the only way to prevent a reaction. And some
reactions can land you in the hospital or even cost you your life.
So, how do you "go home and avoid milk"? By reading every ingredient
statement for all foods, every time you shop. You'll have to allow several
hours at the grocery store. As one woman put it, "It can be like having a
part-time job." If you find ingredients you don't understand, you have a
couple of choices: not purchase the product, or call the manufacturer and
ask, "Does this product contain milk?" You may be surprised to find that
manufacturers can't always give you an answer.
According to current labeling laws, ingredients in flavors or spices
don't have to be listed on the label. Some manufacturers consider this
proprietary information and will not answer your question; others can't
get their flavor suppliers to provide the information so that they can
pass it along to the consumer. As a result, an already scant number of
choices becomes even fewer.
In the milk example, you'll also have to avoid being fooled by
"nondairy" on the front of the package. Every year milk-allergic children
have a reaction because their parents, babysitters, grandparents, or
friend's parents believe the "nondairy" description on the front of the
package actually means the product does not contain milk proteins or
derivatives. Only after a reaction do these caregivers learn that even if
a product contains casein, a milk protein, it can currently be legally
advertised as "nondairy."
These days, food ingredient labels are written for food scientists, not
consumers. Words such as potassium caseinate, albumin, and semolina all
appear on labels. Good for scientists, but for consumers it takes
detective work--or the experience of a reaction--before we learn that
these words indicate the presence of milk, eggs, and wheat, respectively.
Scientists estimate that food allergies affect close to 7 million
Americans, including 3 million who are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.
Allergic reactions to food account for up to 30,000 emergency room visits,
2,500 hospitalizations and between 150 to 200 deaths each year. Every one
of these deaths could have been prevented by awareness and education.
In a recent informal survey, 550 members of the Food Allergy and
Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) were polled about their experiences with food
labeling. Of these, 80 percent said they have called food manufacturers
for more information, 88 percent believed labels are not easy to read, and
98 percent reported that labels don't give them enough information. FAAN
has been working with the FDA and the food industry to write better food
labels aimed at consumers.
Specifically, we should see labels written with plain English words,
simple enough for a 7-year-old to read. Some companies are already using
simple English terms. You'll see notices such as "Allergy Information:
contains milk and wheat products." To food-allergic consumers, this is a
welcome signal that their needs are being recognized and acted upon.
If a product contains milk or milk derivatives, it shouldn't advertise
itself as "nondairy." If a major allergy-causing food appears in a flavor
or spice mix, the label should accurately reflect this.
Additionally, too many "May contain (a food allergen)…" statements are
appearing on food products. These types of statements are vague from the
perspective of food-allergic consumers, leaving them wondering, "does it
or doesn't it contain the allergen?" Some ask, "How can we determine if
the allergen is in there or not?" FAAN's labeling study showed that 92
percent of food-allergic consumers do not eat a food when it contains this
statement. Many believe food companies are using this general statement
unnecessarily.
The results are mixed. Some consumers are playing it safe and avoiding
the foods, although they are unhappy with the limited choices. Others are
simply ignoring it. This can be like playing Russian roulette, and that
concerns all of us.
We hope that the food industry and the FDA take a look at ingredient
label information with an eye toward that 7-year-old who has been told to
avoid milk and who is trying to determine if a piece of candy will be safe
to eat. If the label reads: casein, whey, curds, caseinate, ammonium
caseinate, potassium caseinate, lactalbumin, and lactoglobulin, that will
not be easy. Indeed, the child may need to become a food scientist before
he or she learns that these are all milk-containing ingredients. The candy
is bound to be stale by then.
Anne Muñoz-Furlong is founder and CEO of The Food Allergy &
Anaphylaxis Network, based in Fairfax, Va.
Return to Top |