Food Labels: What to look for

The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires that food manufacturers identify common allergens in plain English. These common allergens, which represent about 90% of all food allergies, include milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soy. If any one of these foods is used as an ingredient, it must be clearly indicated on the nutrition label. It can be indicated in an allergy statement at the bottom of the ingredient list or within the ingredient list, as shown in the examples below. If the label does not indicate that milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soy, the food is considered safe to eat on the six food elimination diet.

Meat, poultry, fish and egg products are not required by law to be included in an allergen statement. If you do not see an allergen statement on these foods, do not eat the food until you make sure it does not contain milk, wheat, soy, eggs, nuts/peanuts, or fish/shellfish.

Allergen advisory statements, such as “made in a facility with” or “processed on shared equipment with” are not reliable indicators of the presence of an allergen. Manufacturers may choose not to include these statements even if their products are processed using shared equipment or facilities. All products are required to be made using Good Manufacturing Practices, which are regulations from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent cross-contamination.

Remember, ingredients in a product can change, so be sure to read the ingredient lists regularly.

*Sourced from Eosinphilic Esophagitis education booklet available at Mayo Clinic Patient Education