What Does “May Contain” Mean?
What does it mean when you pick up a food label and under ingredients it says “May Contain”?
I have been wondering this as I navigate the confusing choices and messaging on various food products. In addition to understanding the potential food allergy’s in products, it is important for all of us to understand how the labeling works on our foods.
Labels, in my opinion, are not clear enough and often confuse consumers. In 2016 the FDA changed the requirements for how labels need to look and what information needs to be included. These changes were put in place to give the impression that transparency was changing around labeling of foods but the current label still leaves a lot of room for confusion.
Most consumers do not understand the importance of the labeling and the important information like health outcomes and link to disease are left out. There is one area that I want to focus on in particular and that is with the way ingredients are listed.
When looking at the ingredients what does it mean when a label says that a product “may contain” certain things?
Firstly, these “may contain” statements are voluntary. Manufacturers are not required to put a “may contain” statement on their label (I have noticed though that most do include this). The “may contain” statement means that the items listed may have come in contact with that product. The items listed, say peanuts or milk, might be in a product that is made in the same facility or be made on the same machine. That statement means that there is a very slight chance that some of the allergen may be in the product. It is not directly in the product but due to the close proximity of different products being made some may have gotten into the product. It is up to you as the consumer of the product, whether you have a serious food allergy or choose to eat a particular way, to decide the weight of the “may contain” warning in your purchases.
Something that I found interesting in my research is that, “Manufacturers can change their products’ ingredients at any time, so it’s a good idea to check the ingredient list every time you buy the product—even if you have eaten it before and didn’t have an allergic reaction.” If you have to or choose to stick to a particular diet, always check the food products you consume beforehand. Of course if you prescribe to a whole food plant based diet in the most strict form this will not be a problem because you consume no food products, but as many of us are doing our best to be as whole food plant based as possible but find food products making it into our diet, it is important to understand how labels can be confusing. A food product that has been safe in the past may not be safe if you are strict about any cross-contamination.
While a “may contain” statement is not a deal breaker, depending on how strict you are, it is important to know how to navigate the variety of information that is present on the current food label.
References:
https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/changes-nutrition-facts-label
