Assessing precautionary allergen labeling management in China: A comprehensive analysis of unintended allergen presence and VITAL® 3.0 evaluation

Precautionary allergen labeling (PAL) is used to warn consumers about potential unintended allergen presence (UAP) due to cross-contact in food processing. This study aimed to reveal the UAP levels in food products with PAL and to assess the current implementation of PAL in China based on Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labeling (VITAL®) 3.0 program. A total of 127 pre-packaged snack foods containing egg PAL and 114 pre-packaged snack foods containing milk PAL were collected through stratified random sampling in Nanchang, Jiangxi, China, for subsequent detection and analysis. ELISA analysis indicated that 18.11% of products had egg protein and 29.82% had milk protein at levels exceeding 2.5 ppm, with the majority of these positives concentrated in baked products. Meanwhile, high UAP levels in certain products, particularly those from small and micro manufacturers, posed a non-negligible allergy risk. VITAL® 3.0 assessments found that over 80% of these products were deemed risk-free and did not require PAL. These findings highlighted that the current PAL approach in China led to excessive labeling which diminished information and value for consumers. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the risk assessment and management of cross-contact allergens in food industry, establish a PAL system to effectively communicate risks to consumers, and ultimately build a more robust food management framework in China.