Food processors prevailed in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, when the panel recently tabled a tough proposal backed by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and passed a more “industry-friendly” food allergen-labeling bill. Kennedy’s bill would have required food processors to implement prescriptive labeling formatting and would have imposed civil financial penalties for violations.
The new measure, passed with bipartisan backing, would require that food product labels declare in plain English all major food allergens (milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans) contained in the product, including flavors, colors, spices and incidental additives.