Currently, manufacturers are legally required by the FDA to label which major food allergens are present in a product.1  This system is only effective if the consumer reads the label every time they purchase and eat a pre-packaged food product. As someone with a food allergy, realistically this doesn’t happen. People are creatures of habit. We read an ingredient label once, and if we don’t see our allergen, it goes into the mental category of “safe to eat.” Then we buy it again and again, without thinking twice about its ingredients. If the product’s ingredients change, we are often too late to realize it and face the consequences of our allergy.

A new allergen labeling requirement could reduce the stress of grocery shopping for many people. A large population in the U.S. has a food allergy, roughly 1 in 10 adults and 5.6 million children.2,3  Each of these individuals is at risk of an allergic reaction from unknowingly consuming an allergen in their favorite food. Every year, 200,000 people in the U.S. require emergency medical care due to an allergic reaction to food.4  Mandating allergen change labels on food packaging could save lives. 

A simple label notifying consumers of a change in allergens could prevent these adverse outcomes. Similar to the current FDA mandated allergen labeling, the FDA should require a label on food packaging telling consumers that the allergens have changed. A short, bold-faced, highlighted warning would be sufficient. This label should be located on the side panel above the nutrition information and read, “WARNING to consumers with allergies: the allergens contained in this product have changed. Please see updated allergen information.”

SIGN THIS PETITION to push the FDA to require manufacturers to label allergen changes on the packaging of their food products. 

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