In the ‘freefrom’ retail world, ingredients lists are, so to speak, our bread and butter. By law they are there on every product that comes our way in, hopefully, but not always, in a legible size print, with the major allergens in bold and highlighted in a separate box. We expect them to be inclusive, comprehensive and comprehensible – and we get very cross if they are not. So it comes as a bit of a shock to realise that what happens in food retailing does not necessarily happen everywhere else.
We realised, when we set out with our Freefrom Restaurant/Eating Out Awards, that ingredients would be the main stumbling block for the food service trade. Why? Because, as from mid December 2014, all food service/catering establishments (restaurants, pubs, cafés, sandwich bars, canteens, schools etc) are going to have to be able to tell any customer who asks exactly what the allergen status of their food is. Which is why the catering industry is getting in such a twitter about allergens and why everyone is offering training courses, seminars, conferences etc to help bring them up to speed. (I am involved in two – the FDIN two day freefrom ‘summit’ in September and FATC’s conference in October – and I am sure there are lots more.)
But what I had not really twigged to until Alex started to blog about it, was how poor the grasp of ingredients declarations were in our fellow awards territory – freefrom skincare products. It is not that skincare manufacturers do not declare ingredients on packs their – they do. But…. all too often they are either illegibly small, or printed in white on cream, white on silver or some other very pretty but, from the point of view of someone trying to read them, completely impossible combination. Far worse is many brands’ total failure to list any ingredients information on their websites. Read Alex’s posts (and Hazel Gowland’s comments) here – FreeFrom ingredients? – and here – FreeFrom ingredients Part II – to get the full picture. Alex is threatening a full scale campaign…..
Unless you have a degree in Chemistry…(I don’t)..then making any sort of sense of a skin care product ingredients list is more of a lottery than anything else. Given that I have a hand held lens to read it in the first place….Yes I do know what chemical I am allergic to….and a slip up..looks like I have been burned…not a good look at all…also know in what products the offending item is often used…mascara, lipsticks…important things.
Plus…an enquiry some years ago…to a well-known cosmetics house..they “wont reveal ingredients”…and so another item that I am sensitive to…off my list….and now I wont name them..
Keep up the good work….
Thanks Janet – we will!
Well, they have to name the ingredients, on the whole, but in the case of ‘fragrance / parfum’ they can ‘hide’ the specifics under that vague catch-all term – a problem if you react to fragrances. Currently only 26 fragrance allergens need be named, but if recommendations to increase that to around 130 come into effect, it’ll be a lot easier for people to identify their triggers on cosmetics. And yes, some of the major fragrance / cosmetic housess were furious about that possibility because it would mean revealing more details about their secret signature fragrances … so it’s by no means certain that more transparency with regard to fragrance will ever come to pass, should they lobby hard. More on the subject in our article here: http://www.skinsmatter.com/eczema_and_skin_conditions/pers_care_prods/articles/fragrances-gazzola-11-12.html
Can I suggest anyone with allergies googles allercyl and no phenol as they have the potential to allow you to live normally with minimal allergy symptoms.