Allergen Bill

[Guest ~wAvE WeT sAnD~]

I have a question about the Allergen Bill. In addition to clearly listening other hidden ingredients (ie, "modified food starch-wheat"), how about spices and artificial flavors? Will companies clearly state those as well?

Thanks!

[lovegrov]

If any of the top eight allergens are present in any form they will have to be clearly listed.

richard

[granny]

If any of the top right allergens are present in any form they will have to be clearly listed.

richard

Richard, You are writing to people who suffer from foggy mindedness and maybe I'm worse than most. I've wondered about this and was eager to see what you had to say because I usually admire your knowledge, but honestly, you didn't tell me a thing. What do you mean, "top right allergens" ?? granny

[angel-jd1]

Granny-

I think it was just a typo.....he meant to say "top 8 allergens" meaning milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, Crustacean shellfish, soy, and wheat.

The bill also

requires the Food and Drug Administration to issue final regulations defining

[granny]

Granny-

I think it was just a typo.....he meant to say "top 8 allergens" meaning milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, Crustacean shellfish, soy, and wheat.

Thanks Jessica, when I read Richards message it just didn't click. granny

[lovegrov]

Yes, sorry for the typo. Must proof more carefully. The top EIGHT allergens, including wheat, must be clearly listed.

richard

[MySuicidalTurtle]

So, will this not cover gluten?

I know that gutenfree is wheatfree. . .but that wheatfree is not always glutenfree.

[kvogt]

We really must have barley added to the allergen list. Rye is probably easy enough to detect in an ingredients label as is.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

Are there really enough people allergic to barely to make it one of the top ones?

[kvogt]

There are enough people with gluten sensitivity (i.e. barley) to warrant, I think.

[tarnalberry]

The panel decided that the immediate death risk exists for those eight allergens, not for barley, so it's highly unlikely it'll be added to the list. There is a provision in the bill for defining what "gluten-free" means, but this bill is not going to cover all cases. We simply don't have the immediate, serious health risk from a single exposure. (No, I'm not belittleing the celiac response, I'm merely talking that, in terms of dollars, one person dying from anaphylactic shock is going to be more expensive, on net, than - say - three people (a little assumption there than anaphylactic allergies are only present in 0.3% of the population - not based on fact, so no quoting! ;-) ) feeling very bad and being miserable and out of work for a week. They're not going to look at chronic exposure quite as much as immediate reactions.

[MySuicidalTurtle]

So, it will be wheat and not gluten?

Kvogt, if it says gluten then it wouldn't have to list barley, rye, or oats.

I hope it says gluten!