14 Allergen Testing Gaps: Testing Fees Ranging from £55 to £141 May Fail to Mitigate Risks!

On September 5, 2024, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) officially issued the PAL and Allergen Threshold Requirements for Food Allergy Prevention. In the food production process, due to cross-contamination, prepared foods may contain allergens that are not clearly identified in the ingredient list, which may pose a potential risk to people susceptible to allergies. In order to prevent such risks, the first steps are to minimize the risk, implement good practices in allergen management, and food companies need to conduct risk assessments and establish food safety management systems. If existing food safety management measures cannot avoid or adequately reduce the associated risks, food companies in the UK may choose to voluntarily adopt the Food Allergy Prevention Label (PAL) to alert consumers that food may contain allergens.

To be clear, the Food Allergy Prevention Label (PAL) is intended to indicate the potential risk of the presence of an allergen and is not intended to assert the presence of an allergen in a food. In the UK, the use of the Food Allergy Prevention Label (PAL) is based on a voluntary principle, but must ensure that it does not mislead consumers, avoid ambiguity or cause confusion. Companies should be responsible for managing allergen risks. The Requirements also cover how food companies determine and manage the PAL label, the threshold requirements for the application of the PAL label, the evidence required and follow-up work, as well as the Codex Alimentarius Commission's recommendations on the PAL global standard, related principles (draft), relevant analysis and recommendations. In addition, the Requirements also describe allergen analysis testing methods, noting that the 14 priority allergens in the UK are not currently tested for robustness (i.e. stability and reliability testing), and the cost of such analysis testing is approximately £55 to £141 per sample.