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ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON, May 30 - Food labels will use more easily understandable terms for ingredients that can cause allergic reactions, such as "milk" for "casein" and "eggs" for "albumen," under new industry guidelines intended to help consumers avoid products that can make them sick.

The new guidelines apply to eight food groups that are responsible for most allergic reactions: Crustaceans such as crab and lobster, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, soy, tree nuts such as almonds and walnuts, and wheat.

LABELS ALSO would disclose the sources of flavorings that could be allergy-inducing, such as butter or peanuts. The guidelines "will make life safer for individuals with food allergies and their families," said Anne Munoz-Furlong, founder of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, an advocacy group that receives some industry funding. "It will cut down on phone calls to companies about ingredient information, saving the companies some money." Putting common terms on food labels will especially help children, she said. The standards being issued Thursday by industry trade groups also discourage food makers from indiscriminate use of a warning label such as "May contain peanuts." Some companies are routinely using such labels to protect themselves against lawsuits, Munoz-Furlong said. Under the guidelines, such labels should be used "judiciously" and only when manufacturers can't avoid the possibility of allergens in their products.

Some 7 million Americans who suffer from food allergies rely on ingredient labels to tell which processed foods are safe for them to consume. Some allergic reactions, particularly to peanuts, can be fatal, claiming an estimated 150 lives a year. The Food and Drug Administration welcomed the industry guidelines, releasing a letter to the industry Wednesday that called them a "significant step forward" and a "major health benefit to the food allergy sensitive consumer."

FDA has expressed increased concern about food allergies in recent years but has not proposed labeling rules. Because the trade groups can't enforce the standards, there is no penalty for companies that don't follow them. "Politically, these recommendations are designed to undercut legislation or regulations," said Michael Jacobson, director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. But food makers will be under pressure from consumers to follow the guidelines, said Tim Willard, a spokesman for the National Food Processors Association. "If they find clear label information on certain products and not on others, they are going to buy the products they like. Some companies, including cereal makers, already have been putting special labels on products.

Kellogg's new Atlantis cereal bears a special label which says, in capital letters: "Contains wheat and milk ingredients. Corn used in this product contains traces of soybeans." The new guidelines apply to eight food groups that are responsible for most allergic reactions: Crustaceans such as crab and lobster, eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, soy, tree nuts such as almonds and walnuts, and wheat. Technical terms for ingredients such as casein won't disappear from labels. But packages will put the common terms in a special label, as Kellogg's does, or add them to the ingredient list.