Food Allergy And Packaged Foods

Food allergens must be shown in bold font with the plain English name in the statement of ingredients.

They must also be shown in the summary allergen ‘contains’ statement next to the statement of ingredients.

Imported foods must also be labelled in this way

More information about the Food Standards Code is available from the FSANZ website: Food Standards Code.

• Precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) statements are not law. They are used by food companies to warn that a food product might be cross contaminated with an allergen and is a risk to someone with a food allergy.
• Cross contamination of food allergens can happen during growing, transport, storing and making the food.
• Examples of PAL statements include
  • ‘May contain…’ 
  • ‘May be present…’
  • ‘Made on equipment that also produces products containing…’
  • ‘Allergen warning…’
• PAL statements should be near the summary ‘contains’ statement, but check all over the food package in case the allergy warning is in another spot.
• There is a real risk that someone with a food allergy could react to a food if their food allergen is in the PAL statement. For example, someone with a peanut allergy can react to food with a label that says ‘may contain peanut’.

• It is easy to be confused between wheat allergy and coeliac disease and how to read labels for these two conditions.What is gluten?
  • Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat, rye, barley and oats.

  Wheat allergy and gluten

  • A person with a wheat allergy can have a life threatening allergic reaction to any of the proteins found in wheat, not just gluten.
  • People with a wheat allergy must avoid wheat. They may be able to eat other grains such as rye, barley and oats, if they are not allergic to them.
  • For someone with a wheat allergy, it is important to check for all wheat ingredients on a food label, even if the food is labelled ‘gluten free’.
  • Someone allergic to wheat cannot have any wheat ingredients or foods contaminated with wheat.

  Coeliac disease and gluten

  • Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition, not a food allergy.
  • People with coeliac disease must avoid all gluten containing grains (wheat, rye, barley and oats).
  • If someone with coeliac disease eats gluten, it will not cause a life-threatening reaction, but it can cause gut symptoms like nausea (feeling sick), tummy pain, vomiting and diarrhoea (runny poo) and may cause serious long term health problems.
  • People with coeliac disease must not eat any foods that contain gluten or contaminated with gluten.

   

Lactose free dairy products contain milk protein and must not be eaten by someone who has milk (dairy) allergy.

• Milk (dairy) allergy and lactose intolerance are different.
• People with a milk allergy are allergic to the protein in milk. So because lactose free dairy foods still contain milk protein, they can cause a life threatening allergic reaction in a someone with milk (dairy) allergy. 
• Milk allergy means all dairy foods (such as milk, butter, yoghurt, cheese, cream, ice cream) must be avoided, even lactose free ones.

 What does lactose free mean?

• Lactose is a type of sugar in milk and other dairy foods.
• Lactose free dairy foods have only had the lactose sugar taken out. The milk protein that causes allergic reactions is still there!
• People with lactose intolerance cannot digest the lactose in milk and other dairy foods. Eating dairy foods with lactose will make them feel sick but it is not life threatening.
• Someone with lactose intolerance needs to eat lactose free dairy products so they don’t feel sick.
• People with milk (dairy) allergy cannot eat lactose free dairy products because they still contain the milk (dairy) protein that causes allergic reactions.

What about dairy free products?

• Products labelled ‘dairy free’ should not contain any cow’s milk or dairy protein at all.
• You should still always check the ingredient list and any precautionary allergen labelling ( ‘may contain’ statements) to see if the product contains any milk.

 Other non-dairy ‘milk’ drinks and vegan foods

• Some foods are labelled ‘vegan’. This means they do not have any ingredients that come from animals, like egg and milk. But vegan foods may be contaminated with cow’s milk or egg when they are manufactured. Always check the labels of vegan foods for food allergens in the ingredients list, the ‘contains’ summary statement and the ‘may contain’ list.
• Other non-dairy milk drinks and vegan foods might be made from nuts or soy and other plants, and may not be suitable for someone with allergies to these foods.
• Some coconut milks, coconut drinks or coconut creams contain milk, so they would not be suitable for someone with a milk (dairy) allergy.
• Always check every food label to see if it is ok for someone with an allergy.

• Some foods, like bakery products, food from a butcher and delicatessen items like cheese and processed meats, may not be packaged and may be sold with no label.
• The Food Standards Code states that the seller must be able to tell customers about the food allergen content of an unlabelled product when they ask.
• People with food allergy should also ask about the risk of cross contamination of allergens for unlabelled foods, for example buying sliced ham from a deli that may have used the same slicer for cheese.
• Food served in cafés, restaurants or takeaway outlets, do not have to have a label. The person selling the food must give information about food allergens in these foods, when the customer asks. Learn more about Eating out with a Food Allergy.