The supermarket’s new labelling consists of:
§ Bolding allergens in the ingredients listed on its private label products.
§ An allergen summary statement on every private label product (i.e. ‘contains nuts’).
§ A precautionary statement if needed (i.e. ‘..may be present’) on the private label products.
Coles announced the new labelling initiative to coincide with Food Allergy Awareness Week (14 – 18 May 2012), an initiative of Anaphylaxis Australia.
According to Coles, research conducted by the Food Standards Agency in 2001 had revealed that the average food shopping time for nut allergic consumers takes 39 per cent longer than it does for a consumer not shopping for food allergies.
Coles’ Quality Manager, Neil McSkimming said, “With food allergies on the increase and as part of our continued commitment to our customers, we are now in the position to officially launch our new and improved labelling to make life easier for the millions of Australians living with food allergies.
“In demonstration of our ongoing support of Anaphylaxis Australia, we are proud to play a part in raising awareness of this serious food health issue,” Mr McSkimming said.
