How do food businesses provide information on allergens in non-prepacked foods? A cross-sectional survey in Switzerland

Summary Purpose This project aimed to investigate allergen information practices of food businesses selling non-prepacked foods after the implementation of the new Swiss food law in May 2017. Methods A cross-sectional telephone survey was conducted with food businesses selling non-prepacked foods in Switzerland. A short, standardised questionnaire was developed in German, based on previous research and literature. It was subsequently translated into French and Italian. Altogether, 882 businesses (restaurants, dairies, butcher shops and bakeries) were contacted, of which 387 were willing to participate. SPSS® (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA) was used for statistical analyses. Results The vast majority (86.0%) of food businesses provides oral allergen information. Only 14.0% currently provide written allergen information to the customer, either upfront or on request. The most frequently used labelling system in written allergen declaration was naming all ingredients (35.2%). A significant number (39.8%) do not place a notice on how to obtain allergen information, although this is a legal requirement in Switzerland when not providing written information upfront. Conclusion So far, not all food businesses have been complying with the new Swiss food law on allergen information of non-prepacked food. Therefore, awareness of the legal obligations around communicating allergen information as well as the verification of its implementation should be enhanced. To meet the needs of consumers and avoid reactions, some form of written allergen information should be promoted. Giving this information on request might encourage communication between customer and staff, thus providing an extra measure of verification.

Response of food-allergic consumers to new allergen-labelling legislation in Saudi Arabia

Objective: Preventing a food allergy reaction depends primarily on eliminating allergens from the diet. In October 2019, the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) introduced new legislation requiring food establishments providing and selling non-prepacked foods to state the presence of the top 14 food allergens on their menus. This study aimed to assess the allergen-labelling knowledge, practices, preferences and perceptions towards the new SFDA allergen-labelling legislation among consumers with food allergy in Saudi Arabia. Design: Observational cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire. Setting: Saudi Arabia; February–March 2020. Participants: Residents of Saudi Arabia with food allergy (n=427), aged 18-70 years. Results: Among participants, only 28.1% knew that there were governmental regulations in Saudi Arabia regarding food-allergen labelling and approximately two-thirds (67%) check labels on prepacked food products for allergens. The majority of the participants preferred food products carrying safety statements (84.1%) and symbols (80.1%). A total of 47.1% were aware that regulations in Saudi Arabia require allergens to be declared in ingredient lists, while 48.7% were aware that advisory allergen labelling is mandatory. Only 26.2% were aware of the new SFDA legislation regarding provision of allergen information by food establishments. However, the majority (94.4%) were supportive of the new legislation, and most of them were more likely to eat at restaurants that reported allergen information for food items on the menu. Conclusions: The new SFDA food allergen-labelling legislation needs to be more widely and effectively disseminated to increase the level of awareness among adults with food allergy in Saudi Arabia.

The Food Industry’s Provision of Allergen Information to Consumers: A study exploring the provision of allergen information to consumers for non-prepacked food

This study explored the current provision of information on allergenic ingredients by food businesses to consumers for non-prepacked food, and how this has changed since legislative changes came into force in 2014. The study also provides a new baseline on information provided for food prepacked for direct sale (PPDS).