According to a recent article by Glen Neal, General Manager Risk Management and Intelligence, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the science is aligning on thresholds. But what does this mean for ‘may contain’ type PAL statements?
It was noted in the article that the work undertaken by the joint experts will underpin developments on PAL in the Codex Committee on Food Labelling. Outcomes of that will ultimately help shape consistent international regulation in this area, with calls for mandatory PAL from consumer advocacy groups, getting louder.
At the third meeting in 2021, the FAO/WHO Expert Consultation recommended that Codex adopt a simple, clear and unambiguous PAL statement e.g. “not suitable for” consumers with a particular allergy, but also that consumers should be informed, through labelling or point of sale information, when an allergen risk assessment has been undertaken, irrespective of whether this leads to a PAL statement or not. The use of a symbol, such as the VITAL Certification Logo is recommended. The Panel also noted that education of consumers, healthcare providers, food business operators, risk assessors and risk managers is critical to PAL management.
For the full article please link to https://issuu.com/annescott1/docs/fnzjunjulyandhandbook (p17)
