Milling & Baking News - October 15, 2024 - 34

TUES | 10 15 2024
Bimbo Bakeries affirms approach
to sesame ingredient labeling
WASHINGTON - Bimbo Bakeries
USA (BBU) is standing by its approach
to declaring sesame, a food allergen, in
labels on some products even when the
items don't contain it as an ingredient.
Horsham, Pa.-based BBU reiterated its
stance after the consumer groups Center
for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)
and Food Allergy Research & Education
(FARE) on Oct. 9 expressed " ongoing
concern " over the baked foods manufacturer's
practice following its response to
a Food and Drug Administration warning
controls to address potential sesame
cross-contact, " BBU said.
RESPONSE TO FDA WARNING
In mid-June, BBU received a warning letter
from the FDA stating that a November
2023 inspection of its facility in Topeka,
Kan., found " false or misleading " product
labels for Sara Lee Artesano Brioche,
Delightful Multigrain, Artesano Golden
Wheat and Artesano Smooth Multigrain
loaf bread. The agency said the labels for
those products include sesame seeds in
be truthful and not misleading. "
In response, BBU on July 1 sent the FDA
a letter - obtained by CSPI via a Freedom
of Information Act request to the agency
- explaining that it set " nationally uniform
labels " declaring sesame for the four
Sara Lee bread products " because at some
of our bakeries they are formulated with
sesame and at others they are not, " such as
at its FDA-inspected Phoenix facility.
" We think it very important that sesame
allergic consumers who may purchase
these products at various locations
throughout the country see consistent
labeling of sesame so they can avoid these
products where they truly contain sesame, "
BBU said in the response letter. " This
labeling approach is not employed to avoid
the application of rigorous GMPs and preventive
controls to address potential sesame
cross-contact, nor do we believe that
allergen advisory labeling is a suitable
alternative under our circumstances. "
CONSUMER GROUPS TAKE ISSUE
Washington-based CSPI, however, said
that BBU's practice of declaring sesame
as an ingredient for all products with the
same name, including items that don't
contain sesame as an ingredient, " clearly
violates the requirement that labels not be
false or misleading. "
" It's a perverse response to food safety
letter on sesame labeling this summer.
" Bimbo Bakeries USA takes our role
in protecting consumers with allergen
sensitivities very seriously, through
good manufacturing practices in our
facilities and informative labeling on our
packages, " BBU said in an Oct. 9 statement.
" Recently, the FDA identified that a limited
number of products declared sesame as
an ingredient on their packaging despite
no sesame being included in the product.
Because these products are formulated
with sesame at some of our bakeries and
without it at others, we have taken the conservative
approach of uniform labeling
for these nationally distributed products.
" This labeling approach is used to
ensure sesame-allergic consumers have
consistent labeling across the country and
supplements our rigorous good manufacturing
processes (GMPs) and preventive
34 MILLING & BAKING NEWS
the ingredient and " contains " statements,
though sesame seed isn't an ingredient in
those products' formulations.
" FDA expects food manufacturers to
follow good manufacturing practices and
implement preventive controls to prevent
the unintentional incorporation of allergens
into foods which are not formulated
to contain them, " the FDA said in the June
17 letter. " Labeling is not a substitute for
adherence to good manufacturing practices
or implementation of preventive
controls. Instead, firms must comply with
applicable requirements to address allergen
cross-contact. "
Also in the letter, the FDA said food companies
" may choose to voluntarily place
allergen advisory statements on products
to alert consumers to the possible presence
of major food allergens due to cross-contact.
Any allergen advisory statement must
rules, " said Sarah Sorscher, director of
regulatory affairs for CSPI. " You add an
ingredient that could trigger a harmful
food allergy reaction, slap a label on it
and say you've solved the problem. Then
you label even those versions that contain
no sesame as containing it. We call on
Bimbo Bakeries and other manufacturers
to find a better approach for addressing
cross-contact risks and take sesame out
of these products, where it never should
have been added to begin with. "
BBU explained in its letter to the FDA
that its current sesame labeling approach
came in response to the 2021 Food
Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education and
Research (FASTER) Act, which requires
food manufacturers to prevent sesame
cross-contamination.
" BBU conducted extensive analyses
of its facilities, production lines, GMPs
and allergen cross-contact preventive
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Milling & Baking News - October 15, 2024

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