Food allergies are rarely out of the news these days. From the recent case of Hannah Jacobs who died aged 13 from a sip of hot chocolate that contained cow’s milk to which she was allergic, to warnings by the Food Standards Agency that anyone with a peanut allergy should avoid all products containing mustard due to contamination issues.
Today, there is something good to celebrate for the 2.4 million adults with a diagnosed food allergy in the UK – it is the third anniversary of Natasha’s Law coming in to force.
The law requires all food retailers across the UK to display full ingredient and allergen labelling on every food item made on the premises and pre-packed for direct sale – such as sandwiches, cakes and salads.
It is important because it means people with food allergies now know exactly what is in these foods. They can pick up a sandwich at lunchtime and feel confident that what they are eating is not going to do them any harm. This makes a huge difference – people with food allergies feel safer.
We campaigned for Natasha’s Law after our daughter Natasha died aged 15 from a food allergy.
Her life was cruelly snatched away in 2016 after she ate sesame which was not listed as an ingredient in a baguette and went into anaphylaxis, the most severe type of allergic reaction.
No parent should have to mourn the loss of their child, and to know Natasha’s death was wholly preventable remains a source of the deepest, most enduring pain for us.
Her inquest in 2018 proved what we had already discovered – that there was a loophole in food labelling regulations. The coroner said Natasha had felt “reassured” that the baguette was safe to eat by the absence of any mention of sesame on the labelling.
Our campaign for more transparent food labelling, to prevent other families from experiencing the loss we live with every single day, resulted in Natasha’s Law being introduced on 1 October, 2021.
Natasha would be immensely proud of this law in her name. It has transformed the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands in this country – particularly younger people who are more likely to purchase “food on the go” from sandwich shops.
Yet while progress has been made, there remain many challenges when it comes to food allergies which have doubled in the last decade in the UK.
The simple message that food allergies are not a choice or preference, but a serious and unpredictable disease that can cause a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction still fails to cut through for many.
Food labelling needs to take in to account the fact that many people are now allergic to foods outside of the top 14 allergens, which must be marked in bold on the label. And when it comes to training people about food allergies, the tick-box approach has to stop.
In the recent inquest in to the death of Hannah Jacobs, one Costa employee revealed they had failed the online allergen quiz 20 times before passing.
Food allergies are life threatening for some. Training in allergies needs to be meaningful, so that both staff and customers feel safe around food.
To bring about these changes and improve the lives of people not just with food allergy but all kinds of allergies including asthma and eczema, we want the Government to appoint an Allergy Tsar.
A coalition of families of children and young people who have died from allergic reactions, doctors, lawyers, campaigners and, recently, 20 food businesses have given their support to our campaign.
So while we celebrate the third anniversary of Natasha’s Law and the positive impact it has had on the lives of millions of people with food allergies, we recognise there is so much more to do.
We are working hard through Natasha’s foundation to improve the lives of people living with food allergies. Now ministers need to play their part, and appoint an allergy tsar as a matter of urgency to prevent more avoidable deaths.
Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse are founders of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, a food allergy charity narf.org.uk
