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January 25, 2007
New Bottle Label WARNING, Contains Allergies
The US government is planning to place labels on bottles of wine warning consumers of possible food allergens from eggs, wheat and fish.
The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer protection Act says that all major food allergens should be labeled in "plain, common language" on any food and drink products that may contain them.
The government has proposed that wheat used in the production of wine barrels, egg products used for wine fining, and fish gelatine, or isinglass, used for wine clarification, be labeled on wine bottles.
The current draft legislation is largely based on claims by people who say they suffer from allergens used in making wine.
“The draft places an extremely high scientific burden on the industry,” said Wendell Lee, general counsel for the Wine Institute, a major wine lobby in the US.
“None of the tests now in use are recognized by chemists as being standard,” Wendell said.
The eight major food allergens are milk, eggs, tree nuts (such as almonds, pecans and walnuts), peanuts, soybeans, fish, shell fish and wheat.
The European Union also foresees mandatory labeling of food allergens, but its regulations grant at least provisional labeling exemptions for certain cases, including egg-based products and fish gelatine for wine fining and clarification.
Source: “US set to place allergen warnings on wine bottles,” Panos Kakaviatos, January 25, 2007
Posted by fortna at January 25, 2007 03:07 AM
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