michael f- foodand drug administration（michael f -向药品监督管理局）.docVIP

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D. Executive Director Center for Science in the Public Interest Food and Drug Administration Meeting on Food Allergens August 13, 2001 A. Source labeling and plain English labels Ingredient statements on food labels should be printed in a readable typeface and should clarify which ingredients might cause allergic reactions. Unfortunately, all too many ingredient lists are unreadable due to the small size and the style of typeface used. Consumers shouldn’t have to play the game of “Where’s Waldo” when they’re shopping. Labels such as these [display] make a mockery of the FDA’s requirement that ingredient lists shall appear prominently and conspicuously. (21 CFR 101.2(c), 101.4(a)(1)) Also, ingredient labels typically give the chemical names of additives, such as sodium caseinate, lactose, albumen, or gluten. This Quaker product, for instance, includes whey and sodium caseinate, without disclosing that they are milk derivatives. This pasta product (Pasta Roni) contains sodium caseinate, without disclosing that it is a milk derivative. It can be tough for the average person to memorize all the possible derivatives of foods to which they are allergic. To help people who are sensitive to the eight major allergens and the raft of less common, but sometimes no less severe, allergens — as well as for consumers who use ingredient lists for other purposes — the FDA should require all products to bear an entirely redesigned label. Last month, CSPI formally petitioned the FDA to provide an Ingredients Facts label that is consistent with the Nutrition Facts panel. The ingredients label should be printed in clearer, larger print using upper- and lower-case letters. Major and minor ingredients should be separated out, and a clear “Allergy Information” statement should alert sensitive consumers. That section would include such statements as: “Contains milk, soy, and wheat” or “May contain peanuts.” This particular label was designed