Precautionary allergen labeling (PAL), such as “may contain” or “manufactured on shared equipment,” is voluntarily placed by the food industry. Researchers at Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) studied the knowledge of PAL and its impact on purchasing habits by food-allergic consumers in North America.
Of 6684 participants, 84.3% were caregivers of a food-allergic child and 22.4% had food allergy themselves. They found that almost half of consumers falsely believed that PAL was required by law. Up to 40% of the surveyed consumers purchased products with PAL. An article about the research is published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice.
Click here for an abstract of the published article.
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21 November 2016