The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (PL 108-282) requires food manufacturers to clearly label some ingredients (milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans) in one of 3 ways:

• List the allergen on the ingredient list
• Use the word “contains” followed by the name of the allergen
• Clarify technical terms, for example: casein (milk) on the ingredient list

Highly refined oils derived from allergenic foods are exempt. The full text of the legislation is online: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/alrgact.html.