Consumer groups concerned by Bimbo Bakeries' response to FDA warning letter

Bimbo Bakeries response letter to FDA

Arturo Carrillo, Vice President of Quality and Food Safety at Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU), writes on behalf of BBU President Tony Gavin in response to the FDA's warning letter dated June 17, 2024 regarding the labeling of certain BBU products. View the resource below to read the letter.

Sesame allergy: Food manufacturing shortcut creates new risks

FDA misses opportunity to prevent food manufacturers from adding sesame, an allergen, to evade cross-contamination rules

FDA's response to the CSPI allergen labeling citizen petition

FDA’s tepid response to intentional addition of allergens to foods fails consumers

FDA urged to prohibit food companies from intentionally adding an allergen, sesame, to evade cross-contamination rules

As a result, many manufacturers are labeling foods and cleaning up production practices to prevent foods from becoming contaminated with sesame through accidental cross-contact. But some manufacturers have responded to the new law by intentionally adding sesame to ingredients lists.

Re: Petition to FDA to notify manufacturers that they cannot mitigate allergen cross-contact risks by adding sesame and other major allergens to foods

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) submits this petition under 21 U.S.C. § 350g, 5 U.S.C. § 553(e), 21 C.F.R. § 117.135, and 10 C.F.R. § 10.30 to equest that the Commissioner of Food and Drugs issue a notice to manufacturers and update its industry guidance to prevent manufacturers from intentionally adding sesame and other major allergens to products when they identify allergen cross-contact risks, a practice that violates food safety rules.

Comment to FDA re: draft guidance on allergen labeling

CSPI urges the agency to lay out a plan to proactively consider new allergens and develop controls for allergens prioritized under the proposed framework. We also urge FDA to develop an approach to prioritizing food intolerances not covered by the current guidance.

Letter to FDA re: Adverse event reporting

CSPI writes to draw FDA’s attention to our new publication in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology titled “Adverse Events and Labeling Issues Related to Suspected Sesame Allergy Reported in an Online Survey.” This study adds to the body of literature documenting under-reporting of adverse events related to foods to FDA. We request a meeting with the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) to discuss our findings and, more generally, our recommendations for an improved adverse event reporting system.