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[00:00.39] The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently said that by law food makers are permitted to add sesame to their products.

[00:13.94] They also must identify sesame content in their foods on product packaging.

[00:21.11] Sesame is the seed of the sesamum or benne plant.

[00:26.96] It is used to make oil and the seeds themselves are often used on bread or baked goods.

[00:37.31] The seeds come in black and white colors.

[00:41.03] Sesame is used in many foods to add a nutty flavor or some crunch.

[00:48.73] But the American non-profit group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), says about 1.6 million people are allergic to the seeds.

[01:03.34] Someone who is allergic can get very sick after eating the seeds.

[01:09.19] People with the allergy usually learn to stay away from traditional foods that contain sesame.

[01:17.16] The CSPI is protesting to the FDA about a law that went into effect in January.

[01:26.72] The Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act, known as FASTER, listed sesame as a major allergen requiring identification on packaging for the first time.

[01:46.37] Some food companies made changes to their production centers in reaction to the new law.

[01:53.54] Some cut sesame use completely.

[01:56.73] Others, however, decided to add sesame to products that did not usually contain it.

[02:03.65] As long as they identified the sesame on the food packaging, they were obeying the law fully.

[02:11.61] The CSPI and other organizations argue that adding sesame to foods that did not contain it in the past limits food choices for allergic people.

[02:26.75] Some food companies say it is too hard to prevent sesame from getting into some products, or it is too costly to change their production centers.

[02:39.23] It is easier to add sesame and identify it legally.

[02:46.94] Some restaurants are also adding sesame to their foods and noting it on menus or meal listings in order to meet the requirements of the food law.

[02:58.36] Robert Earl is a food safety advocate.

[03:02.34] He said the practice will put people with food allergies in danger of getting sick.

[03:08.45] “It puts our community at greater risk,” he said.

[03:13.23] Earl added that food companies and restaurants adding sesame to products reduces food choices.

[03:21.73] Earl said his organization – Food Allergy Research and Education – has received a number of complaints from people who said they got sick by eating formerly “safe” products.

[03:36.34] Ruchi Gupta is a children’s doctor at Northwestern University.

[03:44.31] She is director of the Center for Food Allergy and Asthma research there.

[03:48.03] Gupta called the FDA’s decision “disappointing,” and noted that the food company and restaurant changes are permitted by law.

[03:58.65] However, she said she hoped the FDA would have “come out in a way to try to discourage” putting sesame in unusual products.

[04:10.61] Robert Califf leads the Food and Drug Administration.

[04:15.39] In a message posted online in 2023, he wrote about companies adding sesame to their foods.

[04:22.57] He called it “a practice with an outcome we do not support.”

[04:27.60] He said it does not break any rule but that it “limits options for consumers who are allergic to sesame.”

[04:36.64] He also noted that consumers should “check the label every time you buy a food product – even if you have eaten it before and didn’t have an allergic reaction.”

[04:51.78] The F.D.A. also said companies cannot use language like “may contain sesame” if the product does not contain it.

[05:00.55] Peter Lurie heads the CSPI. He said he hoped the FDA’s recent statements would send a message to food companies.

[05:13.83] He said “it’s on the companies to act responsibly,” if the FDA is not going to force them to make changes.