Not really microbiology but often undertaken in micro. laboratories and maybe of some interest.
The Food Standards Agency has begun a UK-wide survey to compare the level of allergens in foods that have voluntary allergen labelling with similar products not labelled in this way. No other survey of this kind has been carried out in the UK.
Allergen advisory labelling, such as labelling that states ‘may contain nuts’, is voluntary. Many manufacturers label their products to alert consumers with allergies that a food may not be suitable for them, as it may unintentionally contain small amounts of an allergen as a result of cross-contamination during production. The survey could help determine if this type of labelling is being used appropriately.

