SGS : FSANZ Adds Lupin to the Mandatory Allergen Labeling List

SAFEGUARDS | Food NO. 094/17

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has added lupin to the required list of allergens that are to be provided on food labels. Effective May 25, 2017 businesses have 12 months to declare lupin as an allergen of prepackaged food labeling in Australia and New Zealand [1].

Allergens labeling in Australia and New Zealand

Lupin will now be added to the other nine allergens, peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, sesame seeds, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat, that require allergen labeling whenever these components are present as an ingredient or as components of food additives or processing aids. In addition to these allergens that must be labeled, there are also specific requirements regarding royal jelly, gluten containing cereals and sulfites labeling. Australia and New Zealand are not the only countries requiring lupin to be labeled as an allergen; since 2007 lupin has been recognized in the European Union as a significant allergen requiring labeling.

Changes in the use of lupin in Australia

In Australia, sweet lupin is primarily used in the animal feed industry, or exported. Since lupin is high in protein and fiber this usage has been changing over the years and its use in human food products has increased. At the same time, there has been an increase in allergic incident reports.

Testing for allergens

SGS laboratories can perform allergen testing using traditional ELISA methods, PCR or next generation DNA sequencing (NGS). The advantage of NGS over ELISA testing is that multiple allergens can be tested for at the same time, whereas ELISA methodology tests only for a specific allergen.

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For enquiries, please contact:

James Cook
Food Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Manager
t: +01 973 461 1493

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