The Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) at the University of Nebraska has been awarded a $20,000 grant by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) Foundation, according to a press release. The grant is intended to help the food industry identify the root cause of labeling errors, which causes many food products to be recalled due to the presence of undeclared allergens.

“Undeclared allergens are the leading cause of U.S. food recalls,” Susan Borra, RD, executive director of the FMI Foundation and chief wellness officer for FMI said in a statement.  According to FMI, the Food and Drug Administration has stated that the Reportable Food Registry reports of undeclared food allergens increased from 30% to 47%  during the five-year period from 2009-2013.

Food allergy and food product recalls

The vast majority of Americans pay attention to food recalls, especially headline-making incidents like last year’s General Mills flour recall or the ever-expanding cheese recalls from earlier this year. Still, many recalls don’t rise to the level of national prominence, so they don’t actually break through the consciousness of most Americans.

Despite a seemingly tedious and burdensome process, consumers are taking food safety into their own hands. According to the Food Marketing Institute U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends study, 61% of shoppers say they rely on themselves as individuals to ensure food safety, up from 55% in 2009. For food allergy sufferers, this figure undoubtedly is much higher. Food allergy sufferers must be on high alert each and every day to ensure the food they buy and consumer is safe.

Brands that endure a recall on one of their products are in danger of suffering from long-term reputational and economic damage. A 2014 Harris Poll found that 55% of U.S. adults said that if a brand they usually buy has been recalled, they’d temporarily switch to another brand. But 16% say they’d never buy the recalled brand again and 17% say they’d also avoid all other products and brands made by the same manufacturer.

For more on the FARRP grant from the FMI Foundation, please see the press release: FMI Foundation Awards Grant to University of Nebraska Food Allergen Experts

For more on my Food Dive feature story on food recalls, please see: Food recall fatigue: Do shoppers heed warnings or have they had enough?