Talking Allergies

any tips for above allergy shopping in UK - new to it all?

Hi Haileylou,

There's a member of the forum called "Storm" who travels to London quite frequently. She might be able to help you.

I don't think she has posted recently but you could send her a private message, so she can get an email notification.

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15 year old - asthmatic, allergic to cats, dogs, horses, waiting to be "officially" diagnosed for anaphylaxis
12 year old - asthmatic, allergic to tree pollen and mold, OAS
Husband - Allergic to amoxycillin
Self - Allergic to housework only

Below I have copied some references that pertain to the UK and that are available on-line.

“Allergy and Intolerance”, Food Standards Agency, 2006-01-09, London, England.
http://www.food.gov.uk/safereating/allergyintol/

“Allergy labelling,” Food Standards Agency, London, England
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/foodlabels/la ... llergenic/

“An Assessment of the Uptake of Food Standards Agency Guidance on Clear Food Labelling”, Food Standards Agency (November 2005), Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association Group, Chipping Campden, UK.
http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk/multime ... assess.pdf

“Better Food Labelling - Written Responses,” Food Standards Agency, (July, 2006), London, England.
http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/ ... report.pdf

“Food Intolerance”, Food Standards Agency (June, 2006), London, England
http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/asksam/health ... e/#A299201

Guidance on Allergen Management and Consumer Information, Food Standards Agency, (July, 2006), London, England.http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/ ... nguide.pdf

“Information provision for allergic consumers - where are we going with food allergen labelling?”, Allergy 2004: 59: 1262-1268.http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/ab ... 04.00720.x

I trust this will be helpful.

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Lance Hill
Regional Food Liaison Officer
Health Canada

hayleylou,

In my experience I find that Sainsbury's products have the best labelling and are the most allergy aware/responsible of the supermarket chains (although Marks & Spencer has good labelling too). Sainsbury's website has a section on allergies. There have detailed lists on all their products and allergens.

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/food/specia ... el3_v2.htm

As for Tesco, I find their labelling very frustrating. Over the past year, their labelling has become wishy-washy... for example, it will state that the food has no nuts/peanuts and it is not manufactured in a plant with nuts and peanuts... BUT they can't guarantee anything. It seems to be they just don't want to be liable for anything. So all their detailed labelling and list of allergens becomes useless.

P.S. Thanks, Nicole. I haven't been posting much but I do read the forum on a regular basis.

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15-year-old son: peanuts, nuts, raw egg whites, asthmatic
Self: allergic rhinitis, fragrance/chemical sensitivities, oral allergy syndrome