Confused by labels? Please Help.

[surreymummy]

Hello

What are the rules for labelling when the food contains one of the top 14 allergens?

I have had conflicting advice from retailers and find it very confusing to know whether something is 'safe' or not.

DD has a wheat allergy, as well as a long list of others, and I never know whether a food is safe or not. Some foods seem to list allergens separately and others don't. So for example, I was looking for cider vinegar today and one bottle said 'gluten free' and another said nothing. On the internet, Cider Vinegar is declared as gluten free, so which one is correctly labelled?

Also, Glucose Syrup is mentioned on alot of products and I understand that this can be derived from either maize or wheat, yet alot of sweets don't state the source. I know there was a change to the rules for glucose syrup to do with not having to be stated if it fell within 'safe' Codex limits, but what does this mean for my DD who is not celiac but Wheat Allergic.

I'm sure if I understood the labeling rules, I'd find it easier to feed DD as I'm sure I'm avoiding a whole host of foods that might be okay.

Apologies is this is a daft question but the more I try to find out, the more confusing I find it.

Many Thanks in advance.

[surreymummy]

I'm thinking that maybe I should have asked this in another part of the forum. Can anyone point me in the right direction please? It would be great to understand what labels should state. Many Thanks.
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[harpagon]

I don't know what to suggest, but am interested in this subject because my son, like your DD, is also allergic to wheat and not coeliac. At the moment I avoid all vinegars and wine for cooking (I do a lot of stews in the slow cooker) because I am unsure of the labelling and manufacturing process. I once attended a talk about labelling by a specialist who works at Unilever, and since then have been more confident about buying foods with glucose and dextrose on the label if they do not specifically mention wheat in the list of ingredients or 'allergy advice'. Sorry don't have anything more useful to say, but thanks for posting this question!

[freefrommum]

Hi my son is also allergic to wheat as well as milk, egg and nuts. The EU rule re: the 14 most common allergens is that they must be included in the ingredients list. This does not mean that there must be an 'allergy box' or similar so you MUST read the ingredients. For example, if a product contains starch or glucose syrup made from wheat, this MUST be stated in the ingredients as wheat is a cereal that contains gluten and is therefore covered by the legislation (even if it is Codex wheat starch or contains low levels of gluten). However, if it contains starch made from maize then the ingredients could simply state 'starch' as maize is not a gluten-containing cereal therefore not covered by the legislation. This also applies to the other 13 allergens on the list so if a product contains lactose or any other milk-derivative it must be stated in the ingredients. I hope this makes sense.

[surreymummy]

hello freefrommum. that makes perfect sense. i think what confused me is that i remember reading somewhere that there was some amendment that stated that this wasn't always necessary if it fell below the codex limit (20pp?) wheat didn't have to be listed. i also remember reading that if vegetable oil contains soya oil then if it was refined it also didn't need to be listed separately. I rang tesco about their own brand marshmallows as the pack simply says glucose syrup. i was told by their customer helpline that they didn't know the source and that i should err on the side of caution and not give them to DD, so i haven't. Do you know anything about this amendment to the rules? I'm so worried about keeping my Dd safe that i sometimes wonder if I've imagined things sometimes.

You sound much more clued up so than me so thanks so much for replying. if it is as you describe then it'll make my life much easier .
harpagon, i'm glad it's not just me that's confused about this. Since allergies reared their ugly little heads I'm a nervous wreck and have completely no confidence when it comes to feeding my kids. that makes me feel like such a rubbish parent.