Allergen statement says "our end products are allergen-free"

Hello,

I received an allergen statement from a European ingredient supplier which says "our end products are allergen-free".

Is this general, non-specific statement acceptable or should I insist on a list of specific allergens that are not contained in the ingredient.

Any input would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

If that statement means that no allergens are present in their manufacturing facility, then yes. Although they should specifically state that no allergens are in the facility.

If they do in fact have allergens in the manufacturing facility, they should provide you with a list of those allergens and what preventive controls are in place to eliminate allergen cross contact. 

That's what FDA will want to see.

Marshall

Hello,

 

I received an allergen statement from a European ingredient supplier which says "our end products are allergen-free".

 

Is this general, non-specific statement acceptable or should I insist on a list of specific allergens that are not contained in the ingredient.

 

Any input would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you.

Hi ArminS

Additionally to previous, quantitatively the quoted statement is anyway scientifically impossible to prove. (think sampling, think instrument detection levels).

One occasionally sees other similarly unverifiable claims, eg this product is "free of pathogens".

One wonders why the supplier has such remarkable confidence.?

The nearest to "free" might be something like "undetected in X grams using  Procedure Y".

Ask them to prove the statement.

Could be a factural and/or interesting response.

Hi Armin,

You need a specification of which allergens are considered by this statement.

Kind regards,

Gerard Heerkens

I would be asking to see the validation....the wording to me reads that they have allergen X in the facility, but as per the processing 0 protein can be found post processing.....

Thank you for your prompt and helpful responses!

Based on your input I requested a more specific statement and voilà...hours later I received a detailed list of substances not present in the product, citing specific EC directives and the Leda/ALBA list.

Thank you for your prompt and helpful responses!

 

Based on your input I requested a more specific statement and voilà...hours later I received a detailed list of substances not present in the product, citing specific EC directives and the Leda/ALBA list.

Strictly the list should have reported "not detected etc" (as per my previous post).

But it's a popular extrapolation.

Me thinks that the statement was a translation and something got lost in it!  Like perhaps Spanish to English direct translation, but the nuance was lost.

You know, like IKEA instructions----get to the end, chair is backwards and then IKEA says, oh sorry, we forgot the middle step!!!

Just ensure that means that they were never present to begin with, otherwise I agree with Charles, should say "not detected"

It is always best practice to ask for a reference/ detailed list of allergens included.

The formerly list of allergens known as LeDa/ ALBA does not exist anymore for 1 resp.10 (!) years
 

Hi,

I agree with Charles. Scientifically it is not possible to demonstrate that something is free from.,... free from means ZERO. It it always a question of LOD and related method, but ZERO can not be proven.

"Free from..." statements are often used on packs in the US. I wonder why this is accepted by authorities and how it is proven.

I use such statements only together with limit value is given, in best case by law e.g. for gluten or sulphite. Than I am able to select a method to check (....without starting a discussion on allergen methods).

Rgds

moskito