No Likelihood of Reactions from Whey-Based Distillates

The European Food Standards Authority (EFSA) has a series of standards in place, much like the U.S. labelling laws, that require listing the presence of possible allergens in food. However, they left an out for manufacturers. Derivatives made from ingredients required to be listed won a temporary exemption from labeling if they had not been scientifically established to cause adverse reactions. That temporary exemption expires in November of 2007.

Medical studies had to be submitted if the exemption was to be allowed to be permanent. The EFSA was charged with conducting those studies.

An article by Jess Halliday on NutraIngredients.com details the results of those studies.

Of importance to us are the following results:

EFSA said that although the analytical evidence was derived from experiments predominantly using almonds, the panel deemed an allergic reaction to be "unlikely", on the grounds that during a properly controlled distillation process proteins and peptides are not carried over into the distillate at levels over 1mg/litre.

A similar opinion was handed down for distillates made from milk-derived whey - such as gin, pastis, ouzo, anis, vodka and other spirits - since proteins and peptides are not seen to be carried over into the distillate at levels above 0.5mg/litre and lactose was not seen to be carried over at levels above 0.4mg/litre.

... [And] the Association des Amidonneries de Céréales (AAC) received the "unlikely" verdict on its two submissions on wheat starch hydrolysates, one of which concerned maltodextrins in coelic disease and wheat allergy, and the other the potential effects of wheat-based glucose syrups in celiac disease and wheat allergy.