The tenet that we live by in our house is that you must Read Every and All Labels (REAL). Allergens can and do hide in bizarre places so you should never assume that a food or product is safe because you can't conceive of someone using the allergen in that particular food.

For example:

• Did you know that peanut butter is a relatively common ingredient in chili?
• Many marshmallows contain egg
• Many packaged bread crumbs contain egg

On top of the fact that allergens can sneak into any food product, it's also not uncommon for food manufacturers to make ingredient changes to their products. In other words, just because a particular brand of bread was safe when you bought it last week that doesn't mean it's necessarily safe this week.

As of 2006, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) states that food labels on products manufactured after January 2006 must clearly identify the source of ingredients derived from the eight major food allergens:

• Milk
• Egg
• Soybean (Soya)
• Wheat
• Peanut
• Tree nut - the specific tree nut must be identified
• Fish - the specific fish species must be identified
• Crustacean shellfish- the specific species must be identified (e.g. shrimp, lobster, crab). Mollusks (e.g. clams, oysters, scallops) are not considered "major allergens" under FALCPA.

FALCPA specifies that these ingredients can be listed in one of three ways:

(1) Within the ingredient list,: milk, egg, or soy;
(2) In parentheses, directly following the food protein derivative, for example: casein (milk);
(3) Underneath the ingredient list in a "contains statement" for example: Contains: milk, wheat.

Manufacturers may choose any one of these three methods, so you cannot rely on looking for a "contains statement" at the bottom of ingredients list as a shortcut. Also important to note is that advisory labeling (those statements like, "made in a facility that also processes" or "may contain") is completely voluntary. Also, there are no rules governing what level of risk those statements imply - I don't regard them as reliable, as it seems like more conservative companies use them a lot to avoid liability while other companies may choose to never use them, even if the risk for cross contamination is higher. Only intentional ingredients need to be listed on the product label. You may need to contact manufacturers for more information about the risk of cross contact.

You can find a link to the full FALCPA in our "Links" section.