Presence of peanut and hazelnut in cookies and chocolates: the relationship between analytical results and the declaration of food allergens on product labels

Maria Pele (1) , Marcel Brohée (1) , Elke Anklam (1) , Arjon van Hengel (1)

1 IRMM - JRC Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements [Geel]

Accidental exposure to hazelnut or peanut constitutes a real threat to the health of hazelnut or peanut allergic consumers. Correct information regarding the ingredients of food products is of paramount importance to inform the consumer and thereby reducing the exposure to food allergens. For this study we have purchased 569 cookies and chocolates on the European market. All products were analysed to determine their peanut and hazelnut content allowing a comparison of the analytical results with the information provided on the label of those food products. Compared to cookies, chocolates are more likely to contain undeclared allergens, while in both food categories hazelnut traces were detected at higher frequencies than peanut. The presence of a precautionary label was found to be related to a higher frequency of positive test results. The majority of chocolates carrying a precautionary label tested positive for hazelnut, whereas in three quarters of the cookies carrying a precautionary label peanut traces could not be detected.

Mots clés: Life Sciences

Maria Pele, Marcel Brohée, Elke Anklam, Arjon van Hengel. Presence of peanut and hazelnut in cookies and chocolates: the relationship between analytical results and the declaration of food allergens on product labels. Food Additives and Contaminants, 2007, 24 (12), pp.1334-1344. ⟨10.1080/02652030701458113⟩. ⟨hal-00577470⟩