Food allergies are believed to cause 30,000 emergency room visits, and between 150 to 200 deaths each year.
Reactions occur because the individual ate something they thought was safe.
An FDA study of 85 establishments in Wisconsin and Minnesota showed that more than half of the manufacturers did not confirm that the information on the ingredient statement matched the ingredients within that package. A study on manufacturing and labeling issues reviewed 221 calls from food-allergic consumers over 24 months, more than half reported undeclared food allergens in products, a third caused reactions. In a study of 32 fatal reactions to food, at least one individual died because the cookies he ate had undeclared peanut. Some labels are incomplete, confusing or misleading as reported in a survey conducted by FAAN of 760 families who are affected by food allergy. The explosion in the number of products with 'may contain' has undermined the integrity of food labels, as doctors and patients begin to wonder if they really should avoid that product.