Food News

Strong increase in food allergies and food intolerance

More and more people suffer from a food allergy or food intolerance. Marking food products with regard to possible allergens is therefore indispensable.

According to a recent bulletin from the DAAB  (German Allergy and Asthma Association), it is estimated that six million people in Germany suffer from a food allergy. That means the figure has tripled in the last twenty years; and the trend is rising.

Cross allergies triggering off food allergies

One of the factors responsible for this is an observed rise in what are called cross allergies. People suffering from a pollen allergy, commonly known as “hay fever”, are also increasingly showing allergic reactions to certain food ingredients. The immune system’s overreaction is frequently triggered off by kinds of fruit, vegetables, cow’s milk, eggs and wheat gluten.

In addition, there is a big increase in lactose intolerance among adults. This is not an allergy in the strict sense, but a metabolic dysfunction. This group of food intolerance also includes celiac disease, whereby gluten, the protein in wheat and other types of cereals, cannot be
digested by people with a genetic predisposition. The consequence can be severe intestinal colics.

Full marking of food products is indispensable

For consumers suffering from a food allergy or food intolerance, full and proper marking of the food products with regard to possible allergens or critical ingredients like gluten is indispensable. Hidden sources, such as mixed herbs and spices or flavour additives, that may contain allergenic components must be taken into consideration.

It is less helpful for consumers on the other hand when manufacturers print prophylactic warnings like “May contain traces of nuts” on labels. Unfortunately, that is often the case because of product liability problems. This is in some measure due to the fact that the European Commission did not wish to stipulate a limit for the declaration. So for allergens (except for gluten) there is “zero tolerance.” Analytically speaking that is incongruous, as every measuring method always has a detection or quantification limit above zero.

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Nevertheless, it is useful and advisable for food manufacturers to test their product with the most sensitive specific methods at present (ELISA, PCR) for the fourteen allergens that must be declared, even if a minimal residual risk cannot be excluded analytically.

The new EU Food Information for Consumers Regulations (EU FIC) No. 1169/2011 which comes into force in December 2014 amends allergen marking. From then on, food allergens will have to be clearly highlighted on packaging and labels. However, this does not apply to traces that may have entered the product through accidental migration. Here the manufacturers are called upon to take appropriate measures under their general duty of care to prevent cross-contamination and scrutinise this with process controls.

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