Urgent warning over TikTok Shop food listings: Fears shoppers 'at risk' after items sold without vital information
Experts have issued an urgent warning over TikTok Shop food listings - amid fears that shoppers could be 'at risk' as items are sold without vital information.
Vendors on the social media site are flogging sweets and snacks without warning that they may contain any of the 14 primary allergens UK businesses are required to declare by law.
And experts say people with allergies could be putting themselves in 'grave danger' by buying the products.
MailOnline found dozens of items where the products' allergens were incorrectly labelled or even denied by vendors on TikTok shop.
Some products even described their allergen information as 'not applicable' - despite also being said to include ingredients such as flour, milk, eggs and nuts.
Chief executive of Anaphylaxis UK Simon Williams warned: 'If the ingredient and allergen information isn't there, don't buy it. You're putting your life in grave danger.'
He told the BBC: 'At the moment it's being used as a platform to sell things that may not be safe. They [TikTok] do need to do more.
One company, Alma Trade Ltd, used the platform to advertise Tigreat French chocolate crepes. They claimed that allergen information was 'not applicable' in their listing - despite the continental pancakes including wheat flour, whole milk and eggs
RM Wholesale is using TikTok shop to flog Fray Bentos pies, again saying that allergen information for the product is 'not applicable'. The pie makers, on their own website, warn that their products contain both wheat and barley
'There's a lot of people making a lot of money, great side hustle, but they're putting people at risk.'
One company, Alma Trade Ltd, used the platform to advertise Tigreat French chocolate crepes. They claimed that allergen information was 'not applicable' in their listing - despite the continental pancakes including wheat flour, whole milk and eggs.
In the UK, 14 allergens have to be listed on any product containing them.
They are: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley, and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if the sulphur dioxide and sulphites are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts).
The Food Standards Agency advises that food sold online or over the phone must provide allergen information at two stages in the order process. This generally means giving them in the online description and on the packaging.
RM Wholesale is using TikTok shop to flog Fray Bentos pies, again saying that allergen information for the product is 'not applicable'. The pie makers, on their own website, warn that their products contain both wheat and barley.
A listing by DaCakeGasm, meanwhile, lists their Nutella stuffed red velvet Oreo cookie and hazelnut stuffed M&Ms Cadbury cookie as just having eggs as an allergen. Eggs, flour and milk are listed in the ingredients - while both Nutella and hazelnuts contain nuts.
A huge three kilogram of Nutella, sold by Bibis Direct, says there are 'no allergens' and that it is a 'safe choice with no applicable allergens listed'. The product contains hazelnuts, milk and soya.
A listing by DaCakeGasm, meanwhile, lists their Nutella stuffed red velvet Oreo cookie and hazelnut stuffed M&Ms Cadbury cookie as just having eggs as an allergen. Eggs, flour and milk are listed in the ingredients - while both Nutella and hazelnuts contain nuts
A huge three kilogram of Nutella, sold by Bibis Direct, says there are 'no allergens' and that it is a 'safe choice with no applicable allergens listed'. The product contains hazelnuts, milk and soya
A fourth, JasatsLtd, advertised Lancashire butter pies, saying they contained milk and nuts. The ingredians also include wheat flour and soya flour
Bakedays Ahead said their 'creamy delicious cheese cake' only contained 'cream cheese' as an allergen. Cream cheese generally contains milk, while flour is also listed in the ingredients
A fourth, JasatsLtd, advertised Lancashire butter pies, saying they contained milk and nuts. The ingredients also include wheat flour and soya flour.
And Bakedays Ahead said their 'creamy delicious cheese cake' only contained 'cream cheese' as an allergen. Cream cheese generally contains milk, while flour is also listed in the ingredients.
After the BBC investigated adverts on the site, TikTok deleted adverts that were highlighted by the corporation. But all the companies complained about continue to sell products on the site without providing full allergen information.
A spokesperson told the broadcaster: 'We have policies and processes in place with our sellers to ensure the safety of food and beverages sold on our platform and we will remove products that breach these policies.'
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