Gina Clowes, food allergy advocate, coach, and founder of Allergy Moms, sums it up best on her Facebook page:
What would it be like if FOOD LABELS were completely UNIFORM and EVERY ONE HAD A “CONTAINS STATEMENT” at the end?
What if companies were REQUIRED to include a “MAY CONTAINS” or “PROCESSED in a FACILITY WITH…” STATEMENT on every label?
And what if EVERY INGREDIENT had to be disclosed on food labels?
It would be a different world, one where consumers concerned with food allergies could simply look at the label and have much greater confidence the food product they hold won’t cause a reaction, lead to a trip to the ER, or worse…
The fact is, today — due to the lax allergen labeling regulations we live with in the US — there’s no way to know for sure whether a product might contain traces of your allergen of concern if it’s one of the “Top 8”, or is an ingredient if it’s not a top allergen. That leaves the allergic community scrambling to call each manufacturer or play Russian Roulette and take a chance with their safety or the safety of their families.
Now is the time to act. The Food Label Modernization Act of 2021 has been introduced in Congress, and despite its name, does NOTHING to address these issues. We need action NOW or wait years until the next opportunity.
Please read and sign the petition, but don’t stop there! Share it with family, friends, and colleagues; post it on your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter profiles; and let your representatives know this is important to you and the wellbeing of your family.
Together, we can make allergen labeling safer and more reliable to the benefit of the estimated 85 million US consumers that won’t buy a product containing one or more of the Top 9 allergens. But only if you get involved.
Petition to Strengthen the Food Labeling Modernization Act to Protect the Allergic Community
