Allergens

ALLERGENS

The Food Labelling Amendment (Northern Ireland) (No 2) Regulations 2004 define twelve ingredients as allergens. These are listed below, along with some pointers of what to look out for:

• Cereals containing gluten (namely wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, kamut), or their hybridised strains - People who have gluten intolerance (also called Coeliac Disease) need to avoid cereals. Wheat flour is used in many foods such as bread, pasta, cakes, pasrty and meat products.
• Crustaceans - People who are allergic to shellfish need to avoid all types including scampi, prawns, mussels and crab.
• Fish - Some types of fish, especially anchovies, are used in salad dressings, sauces, relishes and on pizzas.
• Eggs - Eggs are used in many foods including cakes, mousses, sauces, mayonnaise, pasta and quiche. Sometimes egg is used to bind meat products such as burgers.
• Peanuts - Peanuts, also called groundnuts, are found in many foods, including sauces, cakes and desserts.
• Soya - Soya comes in different forms, for example, tofu (or beancurd), soya flour and textured soya protein. It is found in many foods, including ice cream, sauces, desserts, meat products and vegetarian products such as "veggie burgers".
• Milk - People with milk allergy need to aviod foods containing milk, yoghurt, cream, cheese, butter and other milk products. Watch out for products glazed with milk and ready-made products containing milk powder.
• Nuts (namely almond, hazelnut, walnut, cashew, pecan, brazil, pistachio, macadamia and Queensland nuts) - Nuts are found in many foods including sauces, desserts, bread, marzipan and ice cream.
• Celery
• Mustard
• Sesame seeds - These are often used on bread and breadsticks. Tahini (sesame paste) is also used in a number of foods such as houmous.
• Sulphur Dioxide and sulphites at levels above 10mg/kg or 10mg/litre expressed as SO2.

If you manufacture and label any pre-packed foods, including alcoholic drinks, which contain any of the allergenic ingredients listed, your label must have a clear reference to these products.

Further guidance can be found on: http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/healthissues/foodintolerance/allergicreactions/

http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/guidancenotes/labelregsguidance/foodlabguidance

Please click  to download Guidance for Caterers on Allergens

Please click to download BRC Allergen Questions and Answers