Allergens in ingredients to be listed on food labels

BEIJING - Starting in April, all manufacturers of prepackaged food will have to clarify substances that can cause allergies, according to a national regulation for food labels.

The new standard will be compulsory nationwide, and is the first time that the country has included allergens in food safety regulations, according to Fan Yongxiang, an official with the National Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Approximately 1 to 2 percent of adults and around 5 percent of infants and young children in the country suffer from food allergies, according to Sun Jianqin, director of the nutrition department at Shanghai-based Huadong Hospital affiliated to Fudan University.