Allergy charity The Anaphylaxis Campaign (AC) also wants food companies to limit ‘may contain’ labelling to circumstances where it is “unavoidable”. The call comes as part of a programme by the charity aimed at improving the way allergens are managed during food production and increasing consumer trust in allergy information on food labels.
‘May contain’ labelling is the source of great confusion and misunderstanding among allergy sufferers. Overuse of the term by food firms ‘playing safe’ can lead to people with life-threatening allergies ignoring warnings, says the Anaphylaxis Campaign. The charity quotes one allergic shopper commenting “we ignore all ‘may contain’ warnings since we found one on a cabbage’.” Says it all! NPN June 09