Can I use disclaimer statements such as "may contain" / "This product is manufactured in the same facility ..." to declare the potential presence of allergens that are carried over from the same processing line?

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All ingredients and additives used in food products must be declared under the statement of ingredients, in descending order of the proportions by ingoing weight at the time of manufacture. The presence of the ingredients that are known to cause hypersensitivity to individuals (allergens) need not be declared in a separate statement as long as these ingredients are fully reflected under the product's statement of ingredients. Food manufacturers should adopt good manufacturing practices to prevent/minimise potential cross contamination of allergens with other ingredients. There may be situations where allergens are unintentionally present in a food, for e.g. due to cross-contamination during manufacturing, transportation, storage or by any other means. Precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) such as "May contain [name of allergens]" or "Produced in a facility that processes products that may contain [name of allergens]", is used by food businesses to help manage and communicate the risks of consuming foods that contain allergens that are unintentionally present in the food. PAL should be: i. accompanied by thorough risk assessment of cross contamination along the production chain and potential risks to consumers with food allergy or intolerance; and ii. used only where necessary, in view that consumers with food allergies may not buy food with such precautionary labelling and will end up with limited choices when purchasing foods. Currently, there are no international guidelines for precautionary allergen labelling. Consumers are advised to approach the food business operator directly should they need any clarification on the potential presence of allergens in the prepacked food. You may refer to the Guide to Food Labelling and Advertisements for more information on labelling requirements for prepacked food.

Can I use disclaimer statements such as "may contain" / "This product is manufactured in the same facility ..." to declare the potential presence of allergens that are carried over from the same processing line?

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