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AHPA issues updated guidance on food allergen labeling
August 13, 2025
The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) has revised its guidance document on compliance with the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) to align with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergen Labeling (Edition 5), issued in January 2025.
The primary change is an updated list of “tree nuts,” one of the nine major food allergens that must be declared on product labels under FALCPA. The new FDA list removes several species previously identified as tree nuts in earlier guidance — including coconut — and clarifies that any tree nut not listed is not considered a major food allergen.
First developed in 2019 as a resource for the Chinese herbal products community, AHPA's guidance is now applicable to all product types subject to FALCPA. Ingredient- and formulation-specific information for Chinese herbal products has been moved to an appendix for ease of reference.
The updated guidance is available now at no cost to members on the AHPA website.
