Follow-Up on Hidden Allergens

I did a series of posts last month, including Hidden Allergens Seldom Recalled and Good Intentions May Still Hide Allergens, based on the major investigation of food ingredients and labeling that the Chicago Tribune instigated.

The Tribune ran a follow-up to that earlier article today with Tribune investigation prompts stores to pull food items, by reporters Sam Roe and Ted Gregory. They detail what happened when they contacted the dozens of companies which their investigation found to not have accurate or complete food labels.

Most complied instantly. A few just didn't seem to get it.

Please read it. This is an important piece of work.

Just a hint of the results:

A snapshot of findings from the Tribune database:
47: Percent of products recalled for hidden allergens since 1998 were not announced to the public.
5: Average number of products recalled each week for hidden allergens.
7: Percent of consumer complaints that result in mislabeling recalls.
One third of all products recalled for hidden allergens are cookies, candy, ice cream or snacks.
36: Number of firms with five or more recalls for hidden allergens since 1998.
50: Percent of allergen recalls involving undisclosed milk or eggs.