Undeclared Allergens The Cause Of Most Food Recalls

Proper labeling is still an issue, as a new survey from ExpertRECALL Index found that the top cause for food recalls is still undeclared allergens.

According to the latest data from the second quarter, allergens were the "single largest cause of food recalls," Food Quality News reports. In the second quarter, allergen-related recalls took up 60 percent of the recalls (34 percent up from the first quarter).

In fact, undeclared allergens have been the top reason for the last six quarters, although food recalls in general are down. "Misinformation can cause more harm than good so it needs to be monitored as the recall is occurring so you can make the appropriate changes," Mike Rozembajgier, vice president of recalls at ExpertRECALL, said.

As for foodborne pathogens? The number of recalls decreased from nine to three last quarter, although salmonella listeria, and E.coli contamination accounted for almost one in every four recalls the second quarter.