Singapore Food Regulation Amendment Highlights Allergens

It is important, therefore, for companies to monitor these developments and prepare for the future, especially if their products contain any of the above listed allergens.

5/23/2011 --- Singapore’s Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority’s (AVA) amendment of the country’s food regulations last month means manufacturers of products containing ingredients known to cause hypersensitivity will have to adhere to new labelling practices, international food policy consultancy EAS has said.

The amendment, which came into effect on 15 April 2011, introduced a mandatory declaration of certain allergenic ingredients in a bid to increase the awareness of food allergy among the food industry.

These ingredients include cereals containing gluten, such as wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt or their hybridized strains and their products; crustacea and crustacean products; eggs and egg products; fish and fish products; peanuts, soybeans and their products; milk and milk products, including lactose; tree nuts and nut products, and sulphite in concentrations of 10mg/kg or more.

“Some details of the amendment are still being carved out, such as the criteria for and the format of the declaration of these ingredients on the label,” said EAS Asia Regional Regulatory Affairs Manager Wai Mun Poon. “It is important, therefore, for companies to monitor these developments and prepare for the future, especially if their products contain any of the above listed allergens.”