An Update on Food Allergen Management and Global Labeling Regulations

Abstract

Food allergy is a growing concern worldwide, it has profound effects on the individual’s quality of life, as well as a country’s economy. There is an increasing recognition of food allergy pathogenesis, diagnostic methods and treatment therapies in recent years. Currently, food allergen management has been gradually established in different settings in order to reduce the occurrence of life-threatening food allergy reactions although the best practice to prevent food allergy is still strict avoidance. Food allergen labeling has proven to be an effective way to prevent accidentally access to potentially hazardous residues of the allergen for allergic consumers, however, inconsistency across countries regarding food allergen labeling legislation poses inconvenience in international food trade. Therefore, 3 topics will be discussed in this thesis (1) the current understanding of food allergy; (2) food allergen management in the industry, schools, restaurants and during/after pregnancy; (3) the status of food allergen labeling legislation around the world, including 164 countries which are current WTO members (till August 2017), an inventory was assembled and analyzed, future needs were identified by comparison.