Monday 15th May was a significant date for anyone interested in allergies. Two key issues were on the agenda for a debate following 2 successful Petitions to the UK Government and Parliament. If a petition reaches 10,000 signatures, the government will respond.
The debate held last Monday was open for visitors to watch and Caroline Benjamin attended on behalf of HASUK to support Owen’s family Paul Carey and Owens sister and brother (Emma and Daniel) and also to support Tanya Ednan-Laperouse CBE and Emma Turay as they sat in the public gallery to watch the live debate.
The debate was led by Nick Fletcher and supported by many MP’s who understand the need for improvements to support the allergy community. The Government Health Minister Neil O’Brien has promised to discuss the points raised in more detail with the families.
“Owen’s Law” -Change the law around allergy labelling in UK restaurants was the first topic to be debated in Parliament.
The three key points which were highlighted in the Petition were:
- Restaurants to put all information about allergens in their food on the face of the main menu so customers have full visibility on what they’re ordering.
- Servers must initiate a discussion with customers about allergies on all occasions.
- National register for anaphylaxis deaths.
The family of Owen Carey wanted to make sure that the tragic circumstances of Owen’s death due to a severe anaphylactic reaction would not happen to anyone else. Owen had told the server he was allergic to milk and the information was not communicated clearly to the kitchen as the chicken was marinated in buttermilk and Owen was not aware of this fact.
Sadly, Owen suffered a severe anaphylactic reaction after leaving the restaurant feeling unwell. He collapsed outside The London Eye and was rushed to St. Thomas’ hospital where they were unable to save him. Owen’s family are also asking for a national register of deaths due to anaphylaxis.
Nick Fletcher MP spoke in favour of Owen’s law, there were some questions about the implications to the hospitality industry and an acknowledgement that technology such as QR codes and recipe data systems will be important to support written menus. The consistency and quality of training was also discussed but overall, it was a favourable response.
We were pleased to confirm our support as HASUK for the Control Catering System led by its founder William Ireland and we were delighted to hear our business mentioned in support of William Ireland founder of
Control Catering requesting a single source of truth from suppliers regarding their products will assist many businesses to have accurate information. HASUK is happy to support this.
Further information on Owen’s Law can be found here
Allergy Tsar
Natasha Ednam Laperouse and Shante Turay-Thomas who both sadly lost their lives due to anaphylactic reactions are represented by their families who have been campaigning for an Allergy Tsar to represent allergy sufferers and their families in Parliament. The Petition which stated “The government should appoint an Allergy Tsar to act as a champion for people with allergies to ensure they receive appropriate support and joined up health care to prevent unavoidable deaths and ill health”. The petition highlights the facts that since 2012 there has been a 615% increase in hospital admissions for anaphylaxis
which is a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction. The care people with allergies receive is often patchy, and at worst has led to avoidable deaths. Without greater priority given to allergies these problems will continue and more lives be lost.
Click here for more information Natasha’s Allergy Research Foundation
The debate was led by Nick Fletcher and supported by many MP’s who understand the need for improvements to support the allergy community. The Government Health Minister Neil O’Brien has promised to discuss the points raised in more detail with the families.
You can read the the debate transcript here or watch via YouTube here.
Post by Jacqui McPeake
Jacqui McPeake and Caroline Benjamin are joint Directors of HASUK and they provide Food Allergen Consultancy, Training and audit Services across the UK www.hasuk.co.uk