May contain

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A "May contain" warning is one placed at the end of an ingredient statement to warn people with food allergies that the product, though not intentionally containing the ingredient, may contain traces of it because it was made on the same equipment as products that do contain the ingredient. These warnings have been around since the mid-1990s, probably so the manufacturers could avoid being sued. These types of warnings, as well as "Contains..." warnings for actual ingredients have been placed on fun size packages of the product because it is given to people who do not have access to the main package. However, most recently, many companies have changed the warnings to, "Produced in a facility that also produces products containing...". Sometimes, if the term, "may contain" is used, the words, "due to manufacturing" are included, thus extending the warning to say, "may contain traces of ... due to manufacturing".

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