Insufficient information on food labels is a safety hazard.

Original title: Lack of information on food labels is a safety hazard
Ms. Liu is a young researcher who is allergic to lamb, seafood, eggs and milk. Once allergic, the face is full of red rash, pain is difficult to bear. Ms. Liu is very interested in food labels, she said: "No matter what food I buy, I have to look at the label allergen label." But only some big brands of allergens in the country to do more in place, a lot of food is either not marked, or marked too euphemistic, not easy to find, I dare to buy not much food. On
On the occasion of World Allergy Day (July 8), reporters conducted interviews on food allergies and food label allergen labeling. Relevant experts pointed out that, at present, China's food labels in the allergen label is not perfect, the widespread use of food additives make food hidden allergens increase, consumers eating by mistake lead to allergies occur from time to time, there are food safety risks. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen food safety evaluation, strengthen food label management and regulate allergen labeling.
label allergens can effectively avoid food allergies
" At this stage, food allergies can not be cured, want to avoid allergic reactions can only be avoided by contact allergens. Professor Wenli Zhu, of Peking University's School of Public Health, said people with food allergies must rely on accurate food labels to choose food, and allergen information in food labels is important.
In 1999, at its 23rd meeting, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) published a list of common allergenic foods, concluding that more than 90 per cent of allergic reactions worldwide (including food insatiability) were caused by eight types of food, namely: milk, especially milk; Fish(including sea fish, freshwater fish), crustacean aquatic animals (shrimp, prawns, crabs, lobsters, clams, etc.); peanuts; soy; tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pine nuts, chestnuts, etc.); wheat.
industry experts, The allergens in GB7718-2011's General Regulations on Food Safety National Standards prepackaged food labels, which were implemented on April 20, 2012, and those proposed by the International Codex Alimentarius Commission in 1999 Class 8 allergens are consistent, and their labeling of allergens in food is as follows: If used as an ingredient, it is advisable to use an easily identifiable name in the ingredients list, or to prompt in the vicinity of the ingredients list, such as the processing process may be brought into the above-mentioned food or its products.
A 2002 survey of children aged 3 to 12 in China by researchers such as Hu Wei, a researcher at the Institute of Nutrition and Health of the China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, showed that food allergies are often the most important part of allergic diseases because babies have less contact with the outside world and their digestive and immune functions are not mature. Zhu Wenli said that because of the different diet structure in China and abroad, there are also differences in the types of allergic foods. Allergies to seafood and aquatic products are common in China, while cocoa and strawberry allergies common to foreign populations are rare in China.
Reporters looked at the provisions of many countries on food allergens found that countries around the world on food labels allergen labeling regulations are different, many countries have modified the CAC directory, Japan, the United States, Canada and other countries also clearly defined the ingredients containing allergen ingredients or food specific labeling format.
Japan has reduced fish, shellfish, soy and nuts in its mandatory labelling management, but has added shrimp/lobster, crab, abalone, curfish, salmon eggs, oranges, kiwis, beef, nuts, salmon, mackerel, soy, chicken, pork, pine mushrooms, peaches, yams, apples, gelatin and bananas to its recommendations;
The United States has followed the CAC directory, including sulphate labeling requirements in food additives, requiring that the font size is not less than the size of the food ingredients in the ingredients list next to the food ingredients list, and with " ()" to explain the main source of sensitive ingredients. Canada has added sesame seeds to the CAC Directory, which allows consumers to be informed of the possibility of sensitive substances in food by means of "may contain" or "production equipment processed at the same time" in cases where the substance is not intended to be introduced.
China's food allergen labeling is uneven
"GB7718-2011 standard only encourages enterprises to voluntarily mark to prompt consumers, and 8 types of allergens other than allergens, producers choose whether or not to mark. "An industry insider said that China's current food labels in the allergen label is very irregular, for the specific form of allergen marking is not strict requirements, can be marked "may contain ..." may contain trace amounts ..." "This production line also processing contains ... food, etc., can even be directly marked in the ingredients list.
reported that China's imports and exports of food due to non-conformity of the label was reported as a proportion of foreign general notification continued to be high, in 2014 7.3%, in 2015 4.7%, the first half of 2016 has reached 8.5%. In recent years, many countries and regions have introduced or updated the relevant regulations and standards of food labels, food labels have become the focus of attention of domestic and foreign regulators and consumers, label non-conformity has become an important factor affecting China's food and agricultural export trade.
reporters in the supermarket visit found that only some brands of domestic food allergens have been labeled. Dairy products are hardly labeled with allergen information, such as Yili pure milk, Mengniu pure milk, and even some added peanuts, walnuts and cereals and other common allergens of milk are not labeled; Most of the breads are labeled with allergen information, such as Bingburg, Peach Lee, Mancoton, etc., while the Yili Bread series is not labeled. Nut snacks are the worst-hit areas where allergens are lacking, and even some brands labeled with allergens are a problem, such as yellow-flying red spicy peanuts and delicious cookies with allergen information and ingredient lists side by side, and the font is small and difficult to distinguish; Most of the imported food is labeled with allergen information, some labels are not obvious, and the labeling methods are different.
relevant experts said that no allergen marking or allergen marking is not clear, irregular, to the people suffering from food allergies have brought safety hazards, hope that the relevant departments pay attention to the food label allergen marking problem, as soon as possible to issue relevant norms. At the same time, we should continue to strengthen food safety evaluation to ensure that allergen labeling is scientific and reasonable.