Chefs may have bemoaned the introduction of the EU Food Information for Consumers (FIC) rules requiring all eateries to know about the allergens in their foods; for food allergics, coeliacs and anyone on a restricted diet, this was only the most recent of a whole series measures that have hugely improved their lives. And not just in the UK. Since all EU measures apply across the EU, travelling in Europe with a food allergy or sensitivity has become a far less hazardous undertaking than it used to be.
Fifteen years ago we were still battling to get rid of the ‘25% rule’: if the ingredients of any ingredient in your dish (such as the pepperoni on a pizza) made up less that 25% of the total dish you did not have to declare them. Now all of the 14 major allergens, even they only form a tiny proportion of another ingredient (the fat in a pastry base for example) have not only be declared but highlighted so that they are very visible. Meanwhile, those selling any non prepacked food, be it in a farmer’s market or in a five star restaurant, have to be able to know and to be able to tell you about any of those 14 major allergens in that food.
And these are only the measures that are visible on the high street. To get to that position the last 15 years have seen Europe-wide research projects designed to set thresholds (like the 20 parts per million for gluten below which gluten is not thought to harm coeliacs and gluten sensitives) for all of the major allergens. UK scientists, researchers, charities and industry have been heavily involved in all of these work. But what happens now? One can only assume that we will no longer be invited to be involved in such European initiatives.
The UK Food Standards Agency has endorsed the regulations that came out of Brussels up till now so presumably they will remain in force in the UK. But what happens as Brussels goes on to the next stage in this work. If they introduce viable thresholds for other allergens, will they be implemented in the UK? Since the demotion of the Food Standards Agency from an independent department, the UK government’s record on such matter has not been good.
And what about electrosensitives? The condition is entirely dismissed in the UK but although there are as yet no regulation controlling emissions, the European Parliament has drawn up a number of resolutions advising the use of the precautionary principle with regard to electromagnetic radiation. Should these turn into some measure of control, this will now be of no help to electrosensitives in the UK.
Sadly, the UK has voted to leave – although it seems increasingly clear that genuine concerns over our membership of the EU were not the driving motivation for a very large number of those who voted to leave – and it is certainly questionable whether in a representative democracy, referendums are really the right way to decide such momentous issues. But we are where we are. Despite the very strong support for a second referendum (if you wish to add your signature to the petition you can do so here) it seems more practical and productive to stop worrying about what has happened and focus on how to sort out the mess that has resulted!
Fat lot of good Europe does for people with corn/maize sensitivities which can be just as blighting as wheat intolerances. They are very selective about whom they support and what problems they signal.
And I believe that people voted out this time because they never voted for a political union in the first place, only for a trade link.
The political leaders might have lost touch with people caring about being British, but the common people didn’t – just as they didn’t during two world wars.
Unfortunately for you, Sherry Ann, corn/maize sensitivity is really quite rare in Europe (presumably because we have until now eaten relatively little of it). Which is why, even though corn sensitivity is certainly as debilitating as wheat sensitivity, it was not included in the 14 major allergens.
If a lack of attention to corn and maize sensitivity was the only issue at stake in recent events, a few weeks of education and lobbying might solve the problem,
As it is, the complexities of getting from where we are now to the ill defined destination favoured by Brexiteers is so mind numbingly complex, that the chances of actually getting there are – to what is now probably the majority – vanishingly small.
Interesting (my wife is Coeliac sonInknow how important accurate labelling of food is). I work in the medicines/devices industry so I am very familiar with the implementation of EU Directives into UK Law. It will take a super effort to remove EU requirements from our legislation and your point about future EU initiatives is relevant, especially if we wish to continue to sell into the EU countries. But then you spoiled it by adding a personal (redundant) opinion about brexit and a second vote which is not going to happen.
Thank you for your comment, Patrick. I take your point about the second referendum and have amended the post accordingly – but defend the inclusion of a personal opinion on the basis that this is a personal blog, not an article for a third party publication in which a personal opinion would certainly not be appropriate.