One of the biggest bugbears of life as a food allergic person is Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) or May Contain labelling. This is intended to warn you if there is a risk that the food concerned might be contaminated with any of the 14 major allergens. But because it is …
allergen thresholds
Allergics and Electrosensitives may rue our departure from Europe
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 …
Costa ‘freefrom’ a rave success
About a year ago I had lunch with one of our FreeFrom Food Awards judges who wanted me to meet Hannah MacKay, Costa Coffee's 'Savoury Development Manager'. Costa were seriously considering putting a gluten-free sandwich/wrap/panini into their shops and she felt that maybe I could …
Alpro causes storm over proposed nut warnings
Alpro's plans to combine their soya and nut milk-making facilities on one site thereby, as they see it, necessitating nut warnings on their soya milk, have caused understandable uproar within the nut-allergic community. All too of many of the rapidly growing number of …
‘FreeFrom’ moving forward
Cressida and I spent two very enjoyable days last week in Daventry at the Food and Drink Innovation Network's two-day 'freefrom summit' which I was chairing. FDIN freefrom seminars are a well established tradition by now – I think this was the fifth – but this was the first time …