Food allergen labeling: compliance with the mandatory legislation in Brazil

Abstract Food allergies are reproducible adverse reactions mediated by specific immunological mechanisms that occur in sensitive individuals after consumption of a certain food. It is recommended that the allergic person excludes from the diet the food that triggers the allergic reactions. In Brazil, the Collegiate Board Resolution nº 26 of July 2, 2015, establishes the requirements for mandatory labeling of the main foods that cause food allergies, by implementing the use of alerts. The objective of this work was to verify if food labels in Brazil comply with this resolution. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study carried out at the Ezequiel Dias Foundation from July/2018 to September/2018. The compliance of food labels was investigated according to the requirements for mandatory labeling of the main foods that cause allergies, regulated by CBR 26/2015. The results showed that 12.13% of the analyzed foods did not contain the allergy alert. In addition, 31% of the samples used precautionary allergen labeling, due to possible cross-contamination by an allergenic food. People who have food allergies benefit from advances in food labeling. However, much still needs to be done to ensure that legislation is duly complied, in order to improve the quality of life of allergic people.