Sesame Will Join Major Allergens List on Jan. 1, FDA Says

A woman shops for groceries at a supermarket in Monterey Park, Calif., on Oct. 19, 2022. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images)

A new federal law that goes into effect Jan. 1 will mandate that all foods made and sold in the United States must be labeled if they contain sesame, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The rule change was sparked after the passage of the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education and Research Act, which was signed into law last year.

In an alert issued this month, the FDA said it is “reminding manufacturers that as of Jan. 1, 2023, foods containing sesame will be subject to specific food allergen regulatory requirements, including labeling and manufacturing requirements.”

It noted that sesame joined the federal list of “major food allergens” under the law. The other major allergens are milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans.

“We remind consumers that foods already in interstate commerce before 2023, including those on retail shelves, do not need to be removed from the marketplace or relabeled to declare sesame as an allergen,” the FDA said. “So depending on shelf life, some food products may not have allergen labeling for sesame on the effective date. Consumers should check with the manufacturer if they are not sure whether a food product contains sesame.

In the United States, ingredients are listed on product packaging in order of amount. Sesame labeling has been required for years in other places, including Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. If the ingredients don’t include sesame, companies must take steps to prevent the foods from coming in contact with any sesame, known as cross-contamination.

More than 1.6 million people in the United States are allergic to sesame, some so severe that they need injections of epinephrine, a drug used to treat life-threatening reactions. Cases of sesame allergy have been rising in recent years along with a growing number of foods that contain the ingredient, said Dr. Ruchi Gupta, a pediatrician and director of the Center for Food Allergy & Asthma Research at Northwestern University, according to a recent Associated Press report.

Before, the FDA recommended that food companies list sesame on the ingredient list. The guidance, however, wasn’t a mandate.

Jason Linde, the senior vice president of government and community affairs at Food Allergy Research & Education, told CNN that sesame is “in dozens and dozens of ingredients,” but isn’t always listed by name on ingredient labels. Sometimes, he noted, sesame is obfuscated by being called a ”natural spice or flavor.”

“For years, [people] with a life-threatening sesame allergy would have to look at the back of the label, call the manufacturer and try to figure it out,” he said. “If it was included, it was just included as a natural spice or flavor.”

Linde said that while the rule goes into effect on Sunday, it might take months for the change to be seen on the shelves. The rule will not apply to food that is currently being sold or on shelves as of Jan. 1.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.