Dec 20, 2008 4:53 pm US/Central
Report: Mislabeled Foods Pose Health Risks
CHICAGO (AP) ―
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Parents of the growing number of children with severe food allergies have to wage a constant battle to monitor what their children eat.
CBS
More than a dozen food companies are pulling mislabeled items from store shelves or correcting their labels after a review found area outlets routinely sell products that pose risks to people with food allergies, according to a published report.
A Chicago Tribune review of thousands of products at more than 60 locations in Chicago and its suburbs found 117 that seemed to violate labeling laws by either not listing allergen-containing ingredients or by offering too little detail, the newspaper reported in Sunday editions.
That means carefully reading and rereading product labels would not be enough to prevent shoppers from inadvertently buying foods with allergy-causing ingredients.
Children could be especially at risk from government and industry failures to find hidden allergens, including because kids with allergies often read labels themselves. Eight foods account for about 90 percent of food allergies -- milk, eggs, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.
In one review case, tests found traces of milk in Frontier Soups Cincinnati Chili mix even though milk is not listed on the label.
The milk likely slipped into the chili mix through cross-contamination during manufacturing, Frontier owner Trisha Anderson said. She said the company would change the label.
In other instances, labels on foods with wheat flour simply read "flour," even though the law requires the more precise description. And if a label says an item has "butter," it also is supposed to say "milk."
There are precautions parents can take to try and protect children with allergies, including by avoiding foods with no label and by avoiding many imported foods.
Over the last 10 years, at least one in seven recalls for undeclared allergens by the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture involved imports, a Tribune database shows. Most were from China.
Parents also are encouraged to learn technical terms used for major allergens, such as "whey" for milk. Companies aren't supposed to use the technical terms on labels, but the Tribune found two dozens instances where they did.
At a Jewel-Osco in Chicago, and at other outlets, the Tribune found Lund's Swedish Pancake Mix, which listed "whey powder" without mentioning "milk." Lab results showed the mix contained 5,000 parts per million of milk.
"We should be labeling this as milk," said Scott Buhl, executive vice president of Noon Hour Food Products of Chicago, which produces the mix. "We'll make that change right away."
Jewel-Osco spokesman Miguel Alba said the chain would pull the pancake mix from 185 stores in the Midwest "until the issue is fully resolved."
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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