Dawdling Over Food Labels

June 2, 2003

June 2, 2003Dawdling Over Food Labels

An estimated seven million Americans suffer from food allergies. Some 30,000 of

them are rushed to hospital emergency rooms each year because of severe allergic

reactions to something they ate. Unfortunately, modest legislation designed to

lessen that toll remains stalled in Congress.

The measure — the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act — would

revise the nation's food labeling laws to make it easier for people to identify

peanuts, eggs and other allergy-provoking ingredients, called allergens.

Introduced by Senator Edward Kennedy, the bill cleared the Committee on Health,

Education, Labor and Pensions last year with ample support from Republicans —

including the present chairman, Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire. But now

that the Republicans are in charge, Mr. Gregg seems in no hurry to revive the

measure.

The dawdling leaves standing a dangerous loophole. Current Food and Drug

Administration rules permit known allergens used in flavorings, spices and

coloring to go undisclosed on product labels even though ingesting even a tiny

amount can be fatal for some people. Moreover, even when labels do list

allergens, they are often identified by their formal names, thereby obscuring

their presence — " seminola " instead of wheat, for example.

In an effort to fend off legislation two years ago, the food industry issued

voluntary guidelines, but compliance has been haphazard. Mr. Kennedy's bill

would mandate clear and more complete allergen labeling. Mr. Gregg should move

it forward.

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