Manufacturers reject allergen standard

Processors have spurned a standard being set up by the Anaphylaxis Campaign that would use a logo to show products had been produced in a factory certified by allergen-trained auditors.

Michael Hunt of the Food and Drink Federation's scientific and advisory affairs division said: "Many of us think this is not the way to go. It's costly, especially for small companies."

Commenting for the Campaign, Dorothy Cullinane of Cullinane Associates said the standard would reassure consumers that companies were taking the correct safety precautions on allergens. "If we say 'may contain', we really want people to believe that," she said. "Because the standard is consumer-owned, it has independence. If a body owns a standard, it may be looking out for stakeholders' interests."

Cullinane said an audit could ultimately save money. "Maybe if manufacturers pay for audits, they won't have to spend money on product recalls."

But many companies said consumers already trusted allergen information on food labels. "The standard may help smaller companies, but as a major manufacturer, we've already got high standards," said Ramesh Patel, group safety manager at Bakkavör. "Major retailers have their own allergen standards. We get a lot of audits at the moment and this standard is not going to help."

And one major confectioner asked: "What is the standard's value for food manufacturers? How could this tell the consumer to trust our products more than they already do?"

The standard awaits approval by the UK Accreditation Service.