Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is calling for submissions on a proposal to remove mandatory allergen labelling requirements for certain foods and ingredients.
FSANZ CEO Steve McCutcheon says the proposal involves removing the mandatory requirement for certain products where processing results in negligible amounts of protein being left in the final product.
“In some cases, processing means products are essentially stripped of allergenic proteins, making them safe for consumers who have an allergy to that protein,” he said.
“The products being considered are exempt from allergen labelling requirements in some parts of the world, such as Europe.”
The products being considered are certain glucose syrups made from wheat starch, fully refined soy oil, soy derivatives (tocopherols and phytosterols) and distilled alcohol from wheat or whey.
“FSANZ conducted a thorough safety assessment on the proposal, which included consulting with allergy specialists and industry,” Mr McCutcheon said.
All FSANZ decisions on standards are notified to ministers responsible for food regulation. The ministers can decide to adopt, amend, or reject standards, or they can ask for a review.
The closing date for submissions is 6pm (Canberra time) 23 September 2015.
This information has been reproduced with permission of Food Standards Australia New Zealand.