Comment to FDA re: Voluntary disclosure as sesame as an allergen

More than six years have passed since CSPI and six allergy experts petitioned the FDA on November 18, 2014, for a rule to protect consumers from undeclared sesame in products.

In November 2020, FDA solicited comments on a draft guidance providing voluntary recommendations to manufacturers regarding what the agency believes are best practices for sesame labeling. This comment explains why such a guidance falls well short in addressing serious risks to sesame-allergic consumers, and why agency should replace the proposed guidance immediately with a proposed rule requiring mandatory sesame labeling.