Mythbuster – Are all allergy-inducing foods required to be listed on food labels?

MYTH: All allergy-inducing ingredients must be listed on food labels.

FACT: Health Canada’s food labelling regulations require the inclusion of the common name of priority food allergens as well as gluten sources and added sulphites to be listed on a food label. These include: peanut, tree nuts, sesame, milk, egg, fish, crustaceans (e.g., lobster, shrimp) and molluscs (e.g., scallops, clams), soy, wheat and triticale, and mustard. While a person can be allergic to any food, these are the most common.

Bottom line: Always read food labels and “triple check.”

Learn more about priority food allergens, label reading and the importance of doing the “triple check”.

Help us educate your communities and share this mythbuster with them! Find more mythbusters at foodallergycanada.ca/mythbusters.