Actiegrenswaarden voor may contain-vermelding

Food allergic patients average one unexpected allergic reaction per year. A major cause of reactions is the unintentional presence of allergens in packaged foods as a result of cross contamination during production. Consumers encounter voluntary labeling alerts like "may contain traces of ..." which show a poor correlation with the actual presence or absence of a food allergen through cross contamination. A consequence is that patients do not always take the warnings seriously which leads to possible health risks for the food allergic patient. International stakeholders are working towards quantitative guidelines for the precautionary statements based on scientific action levels. Improving precautionary labeling practices should increase the availability of safe product choices for allergic patients. It is important that physicians and dieticians are aware of these developments so they can adapt to the new situation and in due course adjust their advice to the food allergic population.© 2014 De Nederlandse Vereniging voor Dermatologie en Venereologie.