European Food Standards Agencies Testing For Nut Proteins in Spice Products

23 Feb 2015 --- In February 2015, the US Food and Drug Administration issued advice to consumers who are allergic to peanuts to consider avoiding products that contain ground cumin or cumin powder because some shipments to the US of these products tested positive for peanut protein which was not declared on the product label.

Following this series of incidents in the US, regulatory authorities within Europe including the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) and the Food Standards Agency UK began to test similar spice products for undeclared peanut. The FSAI arranged for sampling and testing of over 20 spices and spice mix products, the results of which will be available shortly. A similar testing programme in the UK identified 1 cumin product with undeclared almond protein, which was recalled from consumers on 31st January 2015.

Subsequently, undeclared almond was discovered in a number of spice products and it is now thought to be linked with the paprika ingredient in these spice products. This resulted in a number of recalls in both the UK and Ireland.

The source(s) of the undeclared almond and peanut proteins is the subject of investigation in a number of countries. The FSAI continues to monitor the issues and will provide updates as required.