EU Exempts Fish Gelatin from Allergen Requirements

CRANBURY, N.J.The European Union (EU) Commission has provided fish gelatin with an exemption for allergen labeling when used as a carrier for vitamins and carotenoids. Directive 2007/68/EC was issued after review of research and data provided by Norland Products Inc., Cranbury, N.J., and Kenney & Ross Ltd. (K&R), Port Saxon, Nova Scotia. K&R is the exclusive supplier of fish gelatin to Norland and manufactures gelatin exclusively from marine sources.

Richard Norland, vice president, Norland Products, said: The allergen in fish is a water-soluble protein. K&R thoroughly washes the raw material for hours prior to manufacturing their gelatin and collagen. This removes any allergens down to undetectable levels. We were able to demonstrate to the European Food Safety Agency with a validated assay that no detectable allergens remained in the gelatin. We look forward to this assay becoming a standard test to assure all of the Norland brand fish gelatin and hydrolyzed fish collagen products contain no detectable allergens.