The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending food manufacturers clearly label the presence of sesame in their products, acknowledging allergic reactions that affect about 1.5 million U.S. residents each year.
Dr. Jennifer Ashton, chief medical correspondent for ABC News, characterized the FDA’s voluntary labeling request as a “call to awareness.”
“(The FDA does not) have the legal power to require food manufacturers to label packages if they contain sesame, but they can urge increased awareness and potentially have that happen down the road,” Ashton told the network.
Because the guidance does not equal a mandate, the advisory is expected primarily to help people with allergies to sesame more readily identify foods that may contain the seed, the agency stated.
Per current FDA regulations, sesame must be declared on a label only if whole seeds are used as an ingredient. The labeling is not, however, required when it is used in a spice blend, for flavoring or for products – such as tahini – that are made from ground sesame seed paste, CNN reported.
“In these instances, sesame may not be declared by name in the ingredient list on a product’s label. We are encouraging food manufacturers to voluntarily list sesame as an ingredient whenever a product has been made with sesame,” Susan Mayne, the director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, stated in the FDA’s news release.
To date, only eight products listed as “major food allergens” are required to be labeled, including milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans.