Sesame allergy rule has unintended consequences

HOW TO FIND SESAME-FREE FOOD Food that was already on store shelves before 2023 will not be removed or relabeled to declare sesame as an allergen. So, depending on shelf life, some products

may not be labeled for sesame despite the new labeling requirements. “If you’ve eaten the food before, it’s probably still OK. If you’ve never had the food before, I would avoid it.”

Otherwise, a failsafe method would be to avoid manufactured or processed food, said Jonathan Spergel, chief of the allergy program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Manufacturers can

still change the ingredients in their products at any time, so it’s a good idea to check the ingredient list every time you buy a product if you or someone in your household has a food

allergy. If you’re not sure whether a product contains a potential allergen, it’s best to either not buy the product or ask the manufacturer directly before purchasing it, according to the

FDA. “For manufacturers this can be a positive if they could reassure the public that there is no sesame in there rather than adding it in, because there are a significant number of

Americans with food allergies and sesame allergies,” Mendez said. OTHER FOOD ALLERGENS In addition to sesame, the ingredients classified as major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish,

crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans. “We recognize that food allergies are a complex public health problem impacting millions of people living in the U.S. and their

families,” said an FDA spokesperson who asked not to be named by AARP. “To help protect consumers with food allergies, the FDA enforces laws that require listing of ingredients used in

packaged food products so that consumers can find ingredients they are allergic, or sensitive to, in a food.” With its new classification, the U.S. follows Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan,

New Zealand and the U.K., which already had established sesame labeling requirements. In reality, sesame is a more common allergen than some of the others on the list such as soy,   Spergel

said.