A quarter of cookie, ice cream and candy manufacturers
in Minnesota and Wisconsin produced foods that could cause
potentially fatal allergic reactions - but their labels didn't
list the dangerous ingredients, says a government report.
The Food and Drug Administration sought the
study of 85 Midwest manufacturers as a sample of nationwide
trends, after noticing an increase in recalls of foods from
store shelves because of allergy-inducing ingredients not
listed on product labels.
Some 7 million Americans who suffer from food
allergies rely on ingredient labels to tell which processed
foods are safe for them to consume. Some food allergies, particularly
peanut allergies, can be fatal, claiming an estimated 150
lives a year.
The FDA asked Minnesota and Wisconsin state
inspectors to look just at peanut and egg allergies, in inspections
that took place over two years.