WEBINAR | FAO/WHO recommendations on allergen labelling
Key recommendations made by CODEX ad hoc expert committee
The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) plays a pivotal role in establishing standard approaches to food safety, including allergen labelling and control. South Africa is a CAC member country, and where applicable, aligns its food regulations with Codex standards.
It has been decades since Codex’s global guidance on food allergen labelling was first published (1999). Since then, great strides have been made, deepening our understanding of food allergies and allergens. At the same time, the need for an internationally coherent allergen labelling and control framework, including reliable, risk-based Precautionary Allergen Labelling, has been highlighted time and again.
In 2020 the Codex Alimentarius Commission embarked on a journey to update its guidance documents on the labelling and management of food allergens. Among other activities, this resulted in the FAO & WHO convening an expert panel. The panel consisted of multiple experts from across the globe, who were asked to give guidance on key allergen labelling aspects. The expert panel organised their work in phases, addressing one key aspect per phase:
Phase 1 – Validate and update the Codex priority list of foods and ingredients that require mandatory declaration.
Phase 2 – Review and establish threshold levels for priority allergens.
Phase 3 – Review and evaluate the evidence in support of precautionary labelling.
Phase 4 – Review and establish exemptions for the food allergens.
In addition to our public training calendar, we also offer in-house training which can be hosted virtually or on-site. Our in-house training can be structured according to your availability and customised to address your specific challenges.
If you are interested in our allergen management services, please contact us.