The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is exploring whether to require sesame be labelled as an allergen on packaged foods.
A request for information has been launched by the agency and it is considering adding sesame to its list of eight current food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans.
The FDA said that in the case of allergens other than the eight major food allergens, it can be difficult, in some cases, for consumers who have allergies to avoid them because they may not always be specifically listed in the ingredient statement or identified by allergen labeling. An ingredient that contains a food that is not a major food allergen may only be listed by its common or usual name and not always declare the name of the food source.
Incidental additives derived from foods that are not major food allergens that are present in food at insignificant levels and do not have any technical or functional effect in that food can be exempt from labelling requirements, the agency said. An example is vegetable oil transferred from food production equipment.
As part of the request for information, the FDA is also asking for input on the prevalence of sesame-containing foods sold in the US that are not required by law to disclose sesame in the ingredient list on food packages.
FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb said: “We’re beginning to see evidence that sesame allergies may be a growing concern in the US. A handful of studies, for example, suggest that the prevalence of sesame allergies in the US is more than 0.1%, on par with allergies to soy and fish.
“Because sesame is not recognised as a major allergen, right now it’s not required to be declared as an allergen on food labels. In fact, it may not always be specifically listed in the ingredient statement. Products with ‘natural flavours’ or ‘spices’ listed on their label may contain small amounts of sesame.
“And people allergic to sesame might eat food labelled as containing ‘tahini’ without knowing that tahini is a paste made from sesame seeds. Fear of not knowing whether a food contains sesame may lead some people to unnecessarily limit their diets to avoid possible exposure.”
He added: “In addition to our growing concerns about sesame allergies, this request for information is designed, in part, to help inform our response to a citizen’s petition to the FDA from medical professionals and consumer advocacy groups who asked us to require that sesame-based ingredients be listed specifically by name on the ingredient lists of all food labels. We take the concerns of people with sesame allergies seriously.”