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same period, according to research by the British Medical Journal (BMJ). So, it’s an obvious conclusion that


food-related allergies are increasing, possibly due to rising food varieties during the last few decades, and other factors. For example, there have been some reported allergic reactions to kiwi fruit, food that doesn’t appear in the 14 known allergen groups; see image above. Around two million people in the UK


are thought to live with food allergies. There has also been a four-fold increase in prescriptions for adrenalin auto- injectors such as Epipen during the last 20 years. It’s estimated that up to 10% of adults and children have a food sensitivity, with as much as 20% of the population experiencing some reaction to food, which indicates food hyper- sensitivity. On average two school children per class in the UK have a food allergy.


It’s a huge global problem Across Europe up to 26 million people are estimated to suffer from food allergies. If this is projected onto a world population of seven billion, that is up to 550 million potential food- allergic people – a massive global health problem. Young children are of the greatest concern, where the incidence of food allergy (often life-threatening) is estimated to be up to 8%.


Adding further grist to the mill and thereby highlighting the seriousness


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of the problem, between 2021 and 2022, throughout England and Wales, Trading Standards identified over 7,000 businesses supplying food that was mis- described, did not declare allergens or contained toxins. (Ref: Trading Standards Review, 2022 Winter edition.) Even more worrying is that, although Natasha’s Law has been in place over a year, little over 37% of Britons think they can easyly identify the allergens a product is free from from its label. Research has also found that nearly half (48%) are unsure whether or not allergen labels are clear and a further 15% have no confidence in them at all. (Ref: Mintel.)


Deaths from food allergies are totally avoidable Fortunately, alghouth the number of annual deaths in the UK is relatively low (ten on average), even one is too many, especially since with production care and correct labelling it can be avoided. From all this it is clear that there is a far wider spectrum of suffering caused by allergies than the statistic of ten deaths per year. Fortunately, addressing the issue of fatalities consistently will also reduce the extent of suffering for those with less serious allergic reactions. As a consumer, I am not aware that much has changed since the introduction of Natasha’s Law. Manufacturers of pre-packaged products appear to rely too heavily on the allergies emboldened on the printed


packaging, and fast-food outlets of pre-packaged products for direct sale (PPDS) appear to have made very few changes altogether, other than a small poster here and there.


Incorrect packaging What if the product pre-packers, whose products have allergens emboldened on their packaging, use the wrong packaging on a different product, a product that contains allergens not listed on the label? During a recent survey of the 14 UK supermarket chains, only three were seen to reduce their incidence of incorrect labelling, whereas the other 11 had shown either no improvements or a worsening situation. Supermarket pre- packers should, and usually do, take responsibility for this. However, problems caused by inaccurate labelling for pre-packers are easy to solve with modest investment. It will come as no surprise to many to learn that this is one of Harford Control’s specialities. Share your packaging control


problems with us and we will help eliminate your future risks permanently. See us on Stand B46 at the PPMA Show, NEC, Birmingham.


CONTACT:


Harford Control www.harfordcontrol.com; 01225 764461


Automation | July/August 2023


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