FS900121 Consumer and food business knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards Precautionary Allergen Labelling.

Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) is a voluntary statement indicating that a regulated allergen could be unintentionally present in a product, posing a risk to consumers with food hypersensitivity. PAL should only be provided if a real risk of allergen cross-contamination has been identified following a thorough risk assessment, and this risk cannot be removed.

PAL is a key area of focus of the FSA's Food Hypersensitivity (FHS) programme over 2021/22. The FSA is aware that there can be issues for FHS consumers with PAL application. FHS consumers include individuals with food allergy, food intolerance and/or coeliac disease. Enhancing the FSA's understanding of the ways in which food businesses apply PAL, and FHS consumer preferences for PAL communication, is therefore an important first step in improving the way in which PAL is used by businesses and understood by consumers.

We are looking to commission a contractor who can design and deliver qualitative research with food businesses and FHS consumers on this topic area. The study should ideally be completed within 3 months of the contract being signed.

The specific research objectives are: 1) To gain further insight into small and medium business application of PAL, by exploring how and why food businesses are applying this labelling, and to what extent it's informed by a risk assessment of allergen cross-contact. 2) To explore consumer usage, views and preferences towards PAL on food products, specifically how do consumers want the allergen cross-contact risk to be communicated.