Why the FSA is asking you to report your food allergy near misses

9th February 2022

Why the FSA is asking you to report your food allergy near misses

When you have a food allergy, you’re always on edge. We all know how much of a minefield dining out can be. No doubt there are plenty of people out there who have had a few close calls.

So it’s nice to know when you have allies on your side. People or bodies you can turn to for help. That’s exactly what the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been for the past few months. A new initiative to capture all these “near misses” is due to wrap up soon, but why is the FSA doing it?

What was the new initiative?

Since November 2021, the FSA has been asking people to report when they’ve had a food allergy near miss. This is when you – or someone you care for – almost has something they shouldn’t. For example, a person with a nut allergy noticing nuts on their food even after asking if it had any.

People could report these instances to the FSA and are able to do so until the end of February 2022. Note though that you shouldn’t report any instances where you purposefully ate something you knew you would have a reaction to. So someone with lactose intolerance eating a pizza wouldn’t count.

What is this all for?

The point of this limited initiative is to gain some insight into how people consume food and how they come across allergens. It’s a proof of concept, as admitted by the FSA themselves. But the idea is it will lead to improving quality of life and direct any future research.

It’s all anonymous and isn’t intended to be about reporting restaurants who make errors. The data won’t be used to go after any food business or person. And your health should always be a priority. Don’t report any near misses before ensuring you’re safe first.

When this initiative is done, it’ll be interesting to see what the FSA gleans from it. Hopefully, the efforts of allergy sufferers across the country will be a step in the direction of keeping people safe from their food allergies.

If you want to report a food allergy near miss, the website is here. Note that it will be closing soon. Beyond that, if you have any allergy concerns at all, do feel free to get in touch with our specialists. We can guide you through your allergy journey. Reach out to us on 02031 433 449.

The Food Standards Agency makes food allergies a top priority

19th August 2020

The Food Standards Agency makes food allergies a top priority

There are enough news stories out there to know how dangerous food allergies can be. One wrong ingredient can be the difference between life and death. It’s why we’re glad to see the Food Standards Agency (FSA) make it one of their top priorities.

It’s one of their Areas of Research Interest (ARIs) for the future and will hopefully lead to some lives being saved. Let’s take a look at the news story, what it means for people with allergies, and how it could help.

What’s the story?

The FSA dedicates itself to putting consumer interests at the forefront of everything they do. Part of this is including a renewed interest in food allergies and intolerances. It’s one of their four ARIs, the others being food safety and standards, innovation in food regulation, and the future of food systems.

They will “develop their understanding of the biological and clinical manifestation of food allergy”. This means they will work on understanding how allergies come to be and when they appear in a person.

The FSA is an independent government body working across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. As the name suggests, food safety is their top priority and hearing this news about food allergies is very welcome indeed.

Food allergy statistics

Food allergies and intolerances aren’t something we can ever take our eyes off. Even now, there are still stories of people – children included – who are dying because of their allergies. One Scottish teenager recently was lucky to escape with their life, having suffered an anaphylactic shock that landed them in hospital.

Anaphylaxis-type reactions occur in around 1 in 1000 people. With a population of 66 million people, it means that as many as 66,000 could suffer from an anaphylactic shock.

Here are some more food allergy statistics to make you think:

• As many as 20% of the UK population experience some form of reaction to food.
• Up to 26 million people in Europe are believed to have a food allergy.
• 1 in 40 children develop peanut allergies and 1 in 20 develop egg allergies

It just goes to show how common the affliction is and why we need to be careful about it. You should always take food allergies seriously. If everyone does that, then no one has to worry. If you have concerns about your own health or that of your child, contact an allergy specialist who can talk you through your worries.

That’s why we’re here to help. Our allergists have the knowledge you need to diagnose any allergies you may have. If you ever have any questions, reach out to us on 02031 433 449.

New labels from the Food Standards Agency could save lives

15th May 2019

New labels from the Food Standards Agency could save lives

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been tightening the rules and regulations on listing ingredients for a while. After a few preventable deaths, notably Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who died after eating a sandwich from Pret A Manger, the FSA is now calling on food outlets to provide thorough ingredient labels.

As it stands, food prepared and sold on-site doesn’t legally require warning labels about any potential allergens. Instead, it’s down to those purchasing the food to ask staff. The flaws in this process are clear, and can ultimately lead to deaths. What if the staff members knowledge is lacking? What if the sellers don’t note any cross-contamination? The what-ifs go on, but hopefully they will soon be put to rest.

Recently, the FSA discussed options to tackle this problem including promoting best practice in the food industry and introducing mandatory labels listing the 14 major allergens. This includes nuts, eggs, and milk. However, it’s the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs who will have the final say over this.

Is this plausible?

While there have been small amounts of opposition from businesses worried about the costs and resources involved in such a scheme, this mostly stems from misunderstanding.

The FSA chairwoman Heather Hancock said, “We are not talking about every fresh sandwich being made in a sandwich shop.”

It’s more plausible that the regulations will be for pre-packaged foods rather than each sandwich you may get at a subway for example, whose list of allergen should already be made available. The aim is to make eating a risk-free experience for people with allergies.

Ultimately, this issue threatens the lives of allergy sufferers across the UK, so we need to do something soon. How the government will implement these life-saving changes is yet to be determined but we have high hopes for positive changes coming our way.

If you have symptoms you can’t explain, you may have an allergy. Finding out has never been easier. Just book an appointment with one of our consultants, and they can test you for over 100 allergies at once.