USA: FDA Releases Final Guidance Document on Food Allergens
On January 6, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a guidance document intended to answer the industry’s frequently asked questions about food allergens, including food allergen labeling requirements under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
The new guidance includes a revised list of tree nuts that the FDA considers to be major food allergens: almond, black walnut, Brazil nut, California walnut, cashew, filbert/hazelnut, heartnut/Japanese walnut, macadamia nut/Bush nut, pecan, pine nut/pinon nut, pistachio, and English and Persian walnut. Nuts removed from the list of tree nuts include beech nut, butternut, chestnut, chinquapin, coconut, gingko nut, hickory nut, pili nut, and shea nut.
The document contains questions and answers about food allergen labeling requirements, including the labeling of tree nuts. The guidance also addresses certain specific packing and labeling situations, such as individual units within a multiunit package. Several questions and answers have been revised to update and clarify information from previous editions.
This final guidance replaces both the draft and final guidance documents on food allergen labeling that were issued in November 2022.
USA: Request for Information on Food Date Labeling
In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a joint request for information about food date labeling, which includes the usage of terms such as “Sell By,” “Use By” and “Best By.” The request seeks to collect information on industry practices and preferences for date labeling, research results on consumer perceptions of date labeling, and any impact date labeling may have on food waste and grocery costs. The deadline to submit comments is February 3, 2025.