Sesame, the newcomer among allergens in the US
In the EU, sesame has been recognised as an official allergen for some time, but soon this will also be the case in the United States. In the US, eight allergens were already officially recognised. A ninth is now being added. Food companies that manufacture products containing sesame and export to the United States will therefore need to adapt their labelling.
Pascal Brysse
Sesame, no innocent little seed
Updating the allergen list was long overdue: more than 1.5 million people in the US are allergic to this flavour enhancer. Sesame therefore urgently needs to be clearly and unambiguously stated on food packaging. This is to prevent people from unknowingly consuming food that can cause them, among other things, skin rashes or asthma.
The FASTER Act: sesame allergy recognised as the 9th official food allergy
In May 2021, President Biden approved a bill relating to the labelling of food allergens, better known among Americans as the "FASTER Act". The bill required that sesame be stated on all relevant food packaging from 1 January 2023. As a result, sesame will become the ninth officially recognised food allergy in the US, after peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, dairy, eggs and wheat.
The allergy will also be added to FALCPA, or more formally the Food Allergen Labelling and Consumer Protection Act. FALCPA is a US law that requires all labelling in the US to contain all necessary information relating to allergens. The law has been in force since 1 January 2006.
Labelling in and for the United States
The new law will of course have consequences for food businesses that produce food or feed containing sesame and export to the United States. The aim is soon to have ‘plain-language labelling’ of the ingredient sesame on packaging. This means that sesame will soon (01.01.2023) have to be declared explicitly by name. At present, the presence of this little seed is often described rather vaguely as ‘contains natural flavours’ or ‘contains natural spices’. So the message is: don’t forget to mention the sesame.
Would you like more information on allergen labelling in Belgium? This handy website is a good place to start.
Or would you like to hear from an expert? Contact one of our Normanists for the latest labelling updates.
