Sesame can be found in seed, oil, or paste form in a variety of foods—from baked goods and breadcrumbs to sushi, soups, dressings, and sauces. (Getty Images)
As of Jan. 1, sesame has officially been added to the list of major food allergens, the US Food and Drug Administration announced.
Sesame, the ninth most common allergen in the US, is now subject to the same labeling and manufacturing requirements as other major food allergens identified in the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, including milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, and wheat soybeans. The change comes over a year and a half after the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education and Research (FASTER) Act went into effect in April 2021, adding sesame to the definition of “major food allergen”.
Foods already in circulation before 2023 do not need to be removed from store shelves or relabeled to declare sesame as an allergen — “depending on shelf life, some foods may not have an allergen label for sesame by the effective date,” the FDA said.
Why is this update important?
The addition of sesame to the list of top food allergens is “a victory for the allergy community,” said the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology after signing the FASTER Act.
According to a 2019 national study, about 1 in 200 people report having a sesame allergy, and of those who report convincing allergy symptoms, about 1 in 4 have experienced severe reactions.
dr Scott H. Sicherer, one of the authors of the study and director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai, said in an email to Yahoo News that other countries, such as Canada and Australia, as well as the European Union, have included sesame seeds in their labeling laws for years, ” and fortunately, US laws now include sesame.”
“For our patients going forward, this means sesame can’t be hidden behind generic terms like ‘natural flavor’ or ‘spices’ and people don’t have to make a mistake because a word like ‘tahini’ (which is sesame paste) is on one.” label, but not the word ‘sesame’,” said Sicherer.
Sesame can be found in seed, oil, or paste form in a variety of foods—from baked goods and breadcrumbs to sushi, soups, dressings, and sauces.
Symptoms of a sesame allergy are similar to those of a peanut allergy and can include difficulty breathing, low heart rate, itching or swelling in the mouth, hives, and even anaphylaxis — a severe, life-threatening reaction that sends the body into shock. While minor food allergies can be treated with prescription or over-the-counter antihistamines, a severe reaction may require an emergency injection of epinephrine and an emergency room visit. Requiring sesame to be labeled on labels means consumers are less vulnerable to accidental exposure, experts say.