The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will host a virtual public meeting on food allergen thresholds and their potential applications in the United States on February 18, 2026, followed by listening sessions on February 19-20, 2026. Registration is open and the event materials are now available. The agency will hold these events in collaboration with various stakeholders, including industry representatives, consumer groups, healthcare professionals, individual firms, retailers, and academic researchers. These collaborative efforts will help inform the FDA’s next steps, prioritize potential options, and advance our food allergen threshold approaches to benefit public health.
During the events, presentations will provide background on FDA’s major food allergen requirements, current regulatory frameworks, risk assessment methodologies for establishing food allergen thresholds, potential applications of risk-based food allergen thresholds and communication, and global approaches to food allergen management. Additionally, three panels will address risk-based food allergen threshold concepts, risk communication and labeling strategies, and potential applications for implementing food allergen thresholds.
Questions for consideration during the public meeting, including the panel sessions, should be submitted through the registration process by February 3, 2026. Registration for the February 18, 2026, public meeting will remain open until the meeting begins.
There will also be two days of facilitated listening sessions (February 19-20, 2026) to offer participants the opportunity to provide feedback on food allergen thresholds and their potential applications in the U.S. Participants must register by February 3, 2026, to attend the listening sessions. Each session will have a maximum number of participants.
Beginning on February 18, 2026, a Regulations.gov docket will open for comments related to the event topic. Electronic comments must be submitted on or before May 19, 2026.