Prospecting Products for Intolerant and/or Allergic People Sold in the Cities of Petrolina-PE and Juazeiro-BA

Abstract

According to the allergen labeling legislation, RDC nº 26 of July 2, 2015, labels must highlight the presence or risk of the presence of allergenic substances, such as wheat, milk and eggs. These substances are the main causes of allergic reactions in the world population. The labels must be presented clearly and precisely, since this knowledge allows the identification of the original characteristics of the product. The objective was to evaluate the adequacy of the labeling of various foods in 10 small and medium-sized supermarkets to verify compliance with the legislation in force in the cities of Petrolina-PE and Juazeiro-BA. The analysis of the information contained in the labels was included in a form, elaborated by verifying the declarations of allergenic and intolerant products in 542 food labels. Thus, it was found that 12 of this presented non-compliance with the legislation, a value that is equivalent to 2.2% of the analyzed product labels, and 97.8% of the analyzed product labels are in accordance with Brazilian legislation. Therefore, among the evaluated products, non-conformities were found in the following products: breads and cereals; eggs and derivatives; seeds and oilseeds; cakes and cookies and artisanal products, where they did not present the declaration for allergens or any indication of alert for the presence of ingredients with mandatory declaration. In view of the results found, the failure in the elaboration of product labels is verified, where a more rigorous control of Organs supervisory bodies is necessary to prevent these products from being marketed.