Tess Warnes, registered dietician at food procurement specialist Allmanhall addresses the vital regulatory considerations businesses must remember when it comes to allergen information and labelling. Tess examines how this specifically applies to vegan food, to avoid confusion for food companies and consumers.
The availability of vegan and ‘free from’ products has expanded considerably in the past few years. This has been a combined result of the number of individuals following vegan diets, a greater focus on less dairy and meat for reasons of sustainability, and an increase in allergy-based dietary requirements.
In line with this growth, we have seen an increased element of confusion around labelling on products. Navigating food labels can be challenging, as laws and products continue to
change.
Research by the FSA recently showed 62% of people who react to animal-based products, or who buy for someone who does, are confident that products labelled ‘vegan’ are safe to eat. Worryingly, this is incorrect from a regulation and allergen information perspective, and may therefore be putting consumers at risk.
Key differentiations
Vegan labelling on packaging provides assurance to consumers who choose to avoid animal products for ethical, environmental or health reasons. In the UK, the use of vegan labels is not strictly regulated by law.
‘Free from’ foods are special ranges of foods made without certain allergens. If a label states that the product is 'free from milk' or 'peanut free,' it has to be based on specific and rigorous controls and regulations.
These controls need to ensure that the final product is completely free of the allergens stated, not of all allergens. This is another common misconception. ‘Free from’, may mean free from eggs or dairy – not necessarily both – in the same product. What it is free from must be stated, and this includes checking that all ingredients and packaging materials do not contain the specific allergens, and that cross-contamination from other foods made on site is prevented.
There is one exception to this rule, which is gluten. Regulations state that gluten-free labelled products can contain a maximum 20mg/kg of gluten.
Next is Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL), more commonly known as 'may contain'. These statements are voluntary and not regulated by law. PAL is used by food producers to communicate the possible unintentional presence of a food allergen at any stage in the food chain and includes phrases such as 'may contain nuts,' 'may contain traces of egg,' 'made in a factory that handles peanuts' and 'not suitable for milk allergy sufferers’.
There is no agreed definition for ‘vegan’ in UK food law, and when it comes to vegan labelling, there is no legal UK or EU classification regarding what foods can or cannot contain.
Voluntary labelling of terms such as 'vegan' are covered by the Food Information Regulations 2014 and Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. This states products cannot be misleading. As a vegan diet does not include animal products, if a food is labelled vegan, the food must therefore not contain animal products. However, it does not mean the food will be safe from contamination or traces of animal products. A vegan claim does not need to go through any rigorous tests in the way that allergen information does. This means that a food can be labelled vegan and have a PAL statement for milk or egg.
Vegan food can be prepared in factories and areas where products of animal origin may be present. This could mean that some vegan food products could unintentionally contain allergens, therefore caution is absolutely required.
Vegan certification
The Vegan Trademark was designed to provide greater clarity for those following vegan diets, removing the need for these consumers to read through ingredients list. And while the trademark standards require minimising cross-contamination as far as possible, rigourous tests demonstrating complete removal of animal products are still not needed.
It is this that has caused confusion for consumers, many wrongly assuming that all vegan products are suitable for someone with a milk allergy.
It’s important to note that the Vegan Society does not claim that products registered with the Vegan Trademark are suitable for people with allergies to animal products; this depends on the standards achieved by individual manufacturers.
Many vegan food producers exercise caution, rightly, and include precautionary statements which seem counter-intuitive such as 'may contain milk' while also being labelled as ‘vegan’.
Food safety labelling, like ‘free from’ or ‘allergen free,' serves as a guarantee from food producers that the specified food will be absent from the product. But vegan food labelling simply indicates that no animal-based ingredients were intentionally used – not that they are free from any traces or exposure. Vegan food producers should therefore ensure free from statements are used correctly, to avoid confusion and dangerous consequences.
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