Food manufacturers improve allergen control strategies as recalls rise.
Food product recalls for unlabeled allergens have steadily risen during the past decade, averaging 90 per year during the late '90s and reaching 121 in fiscal 2000. "I'm not sure, but there may be several reasons for the rise in allergen recalls," says Dr. Kenneth J. Falci, director of the Office of Scientific Analysis & Support at FDA's Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition. "It may be because both FDA and food companies are looking harder for allergens, because allergic consumers are becoming more aware of the allergens in foods, and because of improved allergen-detection methods. But the actual number of food products containing undeclared allergens is probably higher than the number of recalls."
Recent research suggests that 29,000 hospital emergency-room cases and 150-200 deaths per year are caused by inadvertent consumption of foods containing allergens. "I would argue that every one of these deaths, and every one of these severe reactions, is a preventable situation," said Dr. Steve L. Taylor, head of the food science department at the University of Nebraska and co-director of the university's Food Allergy Research & Resource Program (FAARP), during a videotaped webcast sponsored by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) last October.