Food wrappers can cause allergic reactions
August 7, 2006
Common food wrappers contain hidden rubber proteins that could trigger allergic reactions in up to 3.5million Britons some of them fatal, a study has shown.
One chocolate biscuit tested contained levels of the latex allergens around 20 times what is likely to cause a reaction.
The findings, from an investigation funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), have prompted calls for a change in food labelling rules.
Extremely sensitive individuals exposed to the allergens could suffer a lethal anaphylactic reaction.
Scientists at the research company Leatherhead Food International in Leatherhead, Surrey, looked for latex allergy triggers in samples of food packaging for confectionery, fruit and vegetable produce, pastry and dairy products.
The research, led by Dr Joanna Topping, and published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, is the first comprehensive attempt to measure latex allergens in food and food packaging.
Calls for a change in the labelling rules were highlighted in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) which reported on the findings today.
There have been two recent reports of people reacting to latex in chocolate bars, said Chemistry & Industry magazine.
One patient developed a rash around her mouth and lips after biting open a Mars bar.
The FSA said the research was part of an on-going programme to develop a reliable test for latex allergens in food and packaging.
Interested groups including the LASG had agreed that more work was needed before any firm conclusions could be drawn, said the agency.
- Source: Daily Mail, Aug. 7, 2006
