Asda is launching a product specification system in February that will force own-label suppliers to justify 'may contain' statements to avoid their excessive use.
Speaking at an allergens conference hosted by the Society of Food Hygiene and Technology, Asda technical services manager Susan Mallin said the system would ensure allergen advisory statements were "fully justified"
She said: "Customers don't want scores of 'may contain' messages on products. How are they supposed to make a choice if every ready meal 'may contain' an allergen? These statements should only be used if there is a demonstrable and significant risk of cross contamination, and that risk has been assessed."
She acknowledged that retailers' differing policies on 'may contain' labelling weren't helpful. "We'd like more standardisation on allergen management and 'may contain' labelling," she said.
Asda, which has an auditing system for manufacturers producing its 'free-from' range, had initially considered rolling out the scheme for all suppliers, but realised this was unrealistic.
"It was incredibly time consuming," said Mallin. "We only have 12 suppliers producing the range and we spent 46 days conducting allergen audits, with some companies requiring several return visits in order to pass. We found more than 500 non-compliances, which is quite scary because some of these suppliers were already producing 'free-from' products under their own brands."
Overall, allergen management had to improve, she said. "There are far too many allergen-related product recalls."
Food Manufacture is holding Food Labelling in the Dock, a one-day conference in Warwick, on February 12, 2009. For details, call Stephanie Smallwood on 01293 610433 or email stephanie.smallwood@william-reed.co.uk.