Hacker News Reader

But that’s such a pain in the but for those of us with a mild sesame problem.

If it says “may contain” then I’m fine. If it’s listed as an ingredient then I can’t risk having it.

For people who can’t have any at all you’ve not improved the situation but at the cost of making it significantly worse for people with a mild reaction.

View on HN

Although by adding small amounts of possible allergens to a bunch of common food items you help reduce the frequency of future generations developing the same allergy. So it's a bit of a mixed bag there.

Or even the currently growing generation - allergies are often not genetic and early exposure can help prevent them.

The FDA doesn't allow "may contains" for possible major allergen cross contamination. If the allergen is listed as "may contain" the FDA still requires all of the same costly manufacturing separation practices.

The FDA should either allow "may contains" labels to be used, or create a new category that can be used.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com