Food > Labelling > Information Letters 

Labelling of Foods Causing Allergies and Sensitivities

March 31, 1998

To all Interested Parties:

Enclosed please find an allergy information letter for food manufacturers, distributors and importers. This letter encourages voluntary labelling of the major food ingredients known to cause the most frequent and serious allergic reactions, when they are present as ingredients or components in prepackaged foods. A more complete disclosure of these ingredients should provide a wider variety of safe food choices for Canadian consumers with food allergies and reduce the potential for illness from undeclared allergens. Such labelling is also expected to be of significant benefit to food manufacturers and importers by minimizing the potential for product recalls and reducing the number of consumer enquiries about allergy-causing ingredients.

Also enclosed is a report on the results of the consultation on the two Regulatory Review Project 19 documents entitled: Ingredient Declaration on Food Labels: Development of a list of foods known to cause severe adverse reactions in Canadians, and the background document entitled: Labelling of Foods Causing Severe Adverse Reactions in Canadians, which were distributed on March 11, 1996. These two documents, along with the enclosed report, were prepared by a joint committee of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada (HC). The committee wishes to thank the reviewers for their comments and suggestions.

The revised recommendations in this report reflect the responses of the medical community involved in food allergies, the Canadian food industry, government, and involved consumer organizations. The rationale for the revisions, along with a summary of the stakeholders' responses, are included. These recommendations provide the basis for the proposed voluntary labelling of allergenic foods, and will be taken into consideration in the ongoing review of ingredient declarations under the Food and Drug Regulations.

We would greatly appreciate your distributing the enclosed allergy awareness letter to the members of your association/organization. We look forward to further joint efforts with the food industry, the medical community and consumers, to help increase the safety of foods for Canadians with food allergies.

Sincerely yours,