Awareness of food allergen labeling among the public in China

Objective To study the awareness of food allergen labeling among different populations in China for proposing suggestions.Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted among consumers,management and supervision staff,and employees of food industry selected with quota sampling form 318 counties(districts)of 23 provinces(municipalities) in China.SPSS19.0 statistical package was used in data analyses.Results The overall knowledge rate about food allergen in the 21 687 participants was 68.31% and the rate was 77.90% in the employees of food industry,74.55% in management and supervision staff,and only 58.75% in the consumers,with significant difference among the three groups(P<0.05).The support rate for food allergen labeling was 63.86% in all the participants,with a significantly lower rate(61.97%) in the management and supervision staff compared to those(65.76% and 64.08%)in the employees of food industry and consumers(χ²=18.370 and 7.504,both P<0.05).Among all the participants,27.53%(32.39% among the management and supervision staff),25.93%(29.53% among the employees of food industry),and 24.63%(29.02% among the consumers) considered that the possible reason for the absence of food allergen labeling could be due to without relevant law or regulation,with only minor impact upon consumers,and the high cost,respectively.Conclusion The knowledge of food allergen among consumers is the lowest and the support rate of food allergen labeling is the lowest among management and supervision staff.There are information asymmetry about food allergen labeling among consumers,management and supervision staff,and employees of food industry.