Allergy
Alert For Undeclared Food Ingredients
As consumers of
many prepackaged convenience foods, Americans are reliant upon food
manufacturers to label their products properly so that we can avoid
potential food allergies. Occasionally, manufacturers miss the mark
in labeling their products by not listing known allergens on the
package. When this is the case, manufacturers, government agencies,
and other organizations announce an allergy alert to consumers about
the mislabeled food. In addition to informing the public about the
allergen, some allergy alerts
also will declare if there has been a recall of the product in question.
The most urgent
allergy alert for prepackaged products will involve an ingredient
known to cause a life-threatening allergic reaction in certain consumers
such as peanuts, eggs, and seafood. Other common food allergy alert
announcements will address wheat and milk ingredients. Surprisingly,
you may see an allergy alert for undeclared ingredients in a product
as often as once a day. The frequency of food-related allergy alerts
is nothing short of alarming for those who depend on food manufacturers
to properly label their products.
Information on
food allergy alert announcements is available from several different
private websites as well as from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA). By viewing food allergy alert information, you may be surprised
to learn that your cinnamon rolls contain undeclared milk ingredients
or your vanilla ice cream contains undeclared peanut ingredients.
In addition to prepackaged foods, an allergy alert may also inform
you about pharmaceutical products containing undeclared ingredients,
or even warn you about high pollen levels which aggravate seasonal
allergies.
The symptoms of
food allergies range from mild to deadly, so being aware of food
allergy alert reports may literally save your life. In some cases,
the food allergy alert may also involve a product recall. To read
about a specific food allergy alert, go to www.foodallergy.org or
www.fda.gov.
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