The Certified Free From seal seeks to support consumers who avoid allergens.
A food safety auditing and training company called MenuTrinfo has created a seal and certification process for allergen-free products in order to help the 33 million Americans who suffer from potentially fatal food allergies. The company’s Certified Free From (CFF) program acts as a third-party assessment for producers to confirm that goods are free of any or all of the nine main allergens.
In a webinar on July 27, MenuTrinfo’s chief operating officer, Claire Peacock, stated, “We wanted to create a seal that consumers could seek out and know that they were getting something safe to eat when we developed the Certified Free From program.”
In 2017, CFF was founded as an allergen verification service for university dining hall foodservice providers, but it expanded rapidly to include consumer packaged goods. Currently, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board has accredited the certification process with ISO 17065, and more than 400 stock-keeping units nationwide have the CFF seal.
According to MenuTrinfo President and CEO Betsy Craig, “the CFF seal delivers confidence to the consumer through our internationally accredited standards and scheme certification.” “We think the time has come to provide the food allergy community with the same level of openness, dignity, and support that we provide for individuals who require a gluten-free alternative.
The audit program was created in part in response to the Food and Drug Administration’s unclear requirements about allergen labeling. It verifies ingredients throughout the supply chain, packaging, and storage for potential allergies. Manufacturers are currently allowed to include unverified soft claims, like “dairy-free” or “made in a peanut-free facility,” which leave customers to rely on the company’s word, even though they are legally required to identify any major allergen ingredients and their sources, according to Ms. Peacock.
Manufacturers use precautionary labeling to prevent possible liability or a recall for unreported allergens—which accounted for slightly over 40% of food recall cases in 2022—raises further concerns. The FDA does not confirm the truth of the claims made in this voluntary labeling practice, such as “may contain” or “produced in a facility with.”
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The company hopes that by using the CFF seal, its accreditation would clear up any uncertainty about allergen labeling and make it obvious to customers.”It all really comes down to boosting consumer trust in allergen-free claims,” Ms. Peacock stated.
But with the FDA officially designating sesame as the ninth significant allergen in January 2023, regulators’ focus on allergies is increasing. Sesame was added to CFF’s current certification process, and manufacturers were forced to take additional precautions to avoid sesame cross-contamination as a result of the policy change.On May 27 of this year, the FDA also unveiled new proposed standards for allergen processing and labeling.
According to Mike Flot, an onsite client relations specialist at MenuTrinfo, “the FDA released a new draft compliance policy guide on allergen labeling and prevention of cross contact, and they’re getting public comment.” “They are now concentrating on it.”