This May, the week of food allergy awareness is upon us once again. It is the time for commercial establishments to remember the importance of food allergy awareness. Over recent years allergy awareness is a key issue that bars and restaurants across the UK are looking to address whether it be through colour coding ingredients and equipment or adding the appropriate labelling on food products. In this article we will be addressing the current legislation in place regarding food allergy awareness, what a commercial establishment can do to shed light on food allergy awareness week, the key tools and products needed for operating in an allergy-safe, modern commercial kitchen.
Current Legislation
Ever since the tragic incident that took place in 2016 where 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died after eating a baguette that didn’t have any allergy warnings for sesame seeds due to a food labelling loophole, allergy awareness found itself under the microscope. After this incident stringent restriction on food labelling has been introduced to prevent any potential repetitions of this event. In October 2021 the UK implemented legislation across the industry which went by the name Natasha’s law in memory of her. This milestone change in legislation was deemed necessary and by many too late as seen by the overwhelming support of the general public which saw 88% of the general public show their support for the new law to be applied.
So, what are the adjustments that have been made?
Simply put before the law change businesses were allowed to leave the allergy information off the product packaging if the food was made and packed on-site, Since October 2021, this has changed as a full list of ingredients is now required for all food packaging irrespective of any conditions. As we are raising awareness for the importance of food allergy labelling and packaging, we at Alliance Online would suggest any commercial establishment to review the current laws put in place and making sure that adherence to these rules is of paramount importance as it is a case of life and death for so many across the UK.
How Can Your Establishment Raise Awareness?
When we think about providing a platform for food allergy awareness, a commercial establishment would be the best place to demonstrate an understanding and supporting of the new laws put in place. According to “Charity Allergy UK, who set up the campaign, they found over half of people living with allergies in the UK regularly avoid social situations due to their allergy.” There is a plethora of ways that a bar or restaurant can show support, the following are a few examples:
- Fundraiser
- Confidence is Key (Do your customers trust you?)
A fundraiser would be the ideal platform for raising awareness and funds for further research and care taken for food allergy awareness week. For a bar or restaurant, a fundraiser is a simple task to accomplish because it doesn’t require wholesale changes like other potential events do. Simple advertising and banners would be sufficient to create awareness of not only the great cause it is going to but the establishment itself to increase potential revenue for the rest of the year. When we think of a fundraiser it can be difficult to correctly identify the changes that work in comparison to daily operations, one change that could be made would be discounts on prices or teaching customers the basics of allergy awareness or by joining an awareness campaign. Do your customers trust you? This is a question that should be a resounding yes for any commercial establishments looking to hold a food allergy awareness week fundraiser as consumer trust is a vital part of operations and profitability. Here at Alliance Online we provide a range of products that would benefit a food allergy awareness week campaign. An example being the food allergen labels we offer.
Here at Alliance Online we fully support the legislation and would highly recommend any commercial establishment to take advantage of this week by improving their hygiene and allergen standards. With the advice and awareness we have raised in this article, we would suggest that a fundraiser would be the ideal choice for supporting food allergy awareness week this year. For more information regarding Natasha’s Law and what it means for your establishment we would recommend the GOV.uk page.
