British Allergens Act will be implemented

Businesses need to inform accurate allergen information or face criminal lawsuit According to the China Times, a report by the China Times that last month, according to a BBC news report, a British teenager who is allergic to nuts is using a Chinese food takeaway shop. When the ribs were baked, the barbecue sauce on the grilled ribs was made of peanut butter and died. In fact, incidents in which the British were killed by eating peanuts or containing peanut raw materials occurred every year.

In response, Li Xiuqiong, technical director of food consulting company Food Forward Solutions, explained that the law requires consumers to give correct information when consumers ask for allergen information. If consumers become ill because of the merchant providing wrong information, the company will be fined up to 5,000 pounds or even face criminal proceedings. If the merchant refuses to answer on the ground of not knowing, the consumer can make a complaint to EHO/Trading Standards. If the business is the first violation, it will receive a "Improvement notice".

"If the merchant lacks some of the allergen information, it needs to obtain a complete list of allergen substances from the food supplier. The food supplier is obliged to provide distributors with allergen information on the products sold," said Li Xiuqiong.

The British Food Standards Agency also stated that this reform stemmed from a comprehensive EU review of the general food and nutrition labeling regulations. After the review, the EU Food Information Consumer Regulations (EU FIC) unified multiple regulations under the same regulatory framework to simplify and upgrade the original food labeling regulations. The new food labeling regulations aim to provide consumers with a high level of hygiene and health, and to protect consumers' right to know and help consumers make safer choices.

The agency said that for pre-packaged foods, if the raw material contains any of the 14 allergens, the food company should use the control font, bold typeface or different color fonts to mark allergens in the food composition list.

For non-prepackaged foods or bulk foods, taking restaurants, drinking coffee, eating desserts or breads, for example, if the food ingredients contain any kind of allergen, the store also needs to provide allergen information, and should be written in Food labels, menus, and chalk boards indicate allergens that are prone to allergies, or can be verbally informed by employees.