43. The Committee, at its 24th Session, had considered the proposed draft recommendations at Step 4 and, after making amendments in the light of the conclusions of the FAO Technical Consultation on Food Allergies, returned them to Step 3 for government comments.
44. Concerning the proposal to amend the so-called "25% rule" under which the individual ingredients of compound ingredients present at less than 25% in any food did not need to be labelled, several delegations were of the view that the reduction from 25% to 5% would offer a better protection of consumers' health; other delegations noted that this change would not protect all affected consumers.
45. With regard to the list of foods and ingredients which should always be declared regardless of their content, several delegations stressed the need to include sesame seed and celery in the list, in view of the adverse reactions reported in some countries. Other delegations stated that scientific evidence should be provided for inclusion of any foods or food ingredients in the list and that regional variation in the pattern of major sources of hypersensitivity should also be taken into consideration.
46. The Committee was of the view that a mechanism should be developed to include new foods and ingredients in the list as well as to delete current entries if necessary. The Committee recognised that this function should be assumed by a scientific body in order to evaluate scientific data on hypersensitivity on the basis of the criteria developed by the Technical Consultation and advise the Committee accordingly. The Committee also noted an opinion that the criteria needed further development.
47. The Committee agreed to recommend to the Commission to ask FAO and WHO to urgently explore possible options to address this issue, including the opportunity of creating a new expert committee or extending the mandate of an existing scientific body to evaluate the scientific data relating to food hypersensitivity.
Status of the Proposed Draft Recommendations for the Labelling of Foods that can cause Hypersensitivity
(Proposed Draft Amendment to the General Standard for the Labelling of Prepackaged Foods)
48. The Committee agreed to advance the current Proposed Draft Recommendations to Step 5 (see Appendix IV), with the understanding that guidance was required on how to proceed with updating the list of substances capable of causing hypersensitivity and subject to mandatory labelling.
