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Allergic reactions the focus of new food safety site

Published January 27, 2025 By

A new website is being launched to encourage people to report allergic reactions to food they have eaten. 

The regional initiative will enable Councils to investigate and help to reduce food allergy-related illness and deaths.

Around 20 deaths could be prevented in the UK every year if life-saving guidance related to food was followed.

A regional survey carried out in 2023 revealed that 40 out of 118 – more than one in three - ‘allergen-free’  samples taken contained traces of allergens.

The 12 North East Councils therefore joined forces to launch the new website for people to report if they have had an allergic reaction after eating in a food business.

The new approach enable Councils to investigate the reason for the reaction and where necessary take appropriate action against the business involved.

All food businesses should have controls in place within their kitchen to ensure that they cater for people with allergies.

Measures include separate storage of products that contain an allergen, avoiding cross contamination when preparing meals for someone with an allergy and ensuring the correct information on what foods contain is given to customers.

Environmental Health Officers and Trading Standards Officers carry out allergen control checks during food hygiene inspections.

In addition, food businesses are provided with guidance such as allergen toolkits and a series of videos on food allergies is available to food businesses as a readily accessible education and training resource.

Unfortunately in some cases food business have put their customers at risk.

One such case is that of teenager Eleanor Lincoln who suffered an anaphylactic shock after consuming a curry which contained peanuts.

The 18-year-old’s mother treated her with an EpiPen and she spent the night in hospital following a severe allergic reaction to peanuts.

The takeaway involved had failed to omit peanuts from the meal despite a specific request from them to do so. They were fined £450 and ordered to pay £3,000 in costs.

The campaign will work alongside health professionals to change the lives of people with anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening condition which results in around 20 deaths each year in the UK.

It is estimated that one in 300 people will experience anaphylaxis at some time in their life. In the North East in 2019 there were 76 cases of anaphylaxis under the age of 18 and one fatality.

A common cause of anaphylaxis is the consumption of or exposure to food allergens – most commonly in peanuts, tree nuts, cow’s milk, egg, fish and shellfish, and sesame seeds/sesame oil.

Symptoms range from mild itchy skin and swollen lips, face or eyes to vomiting, abdominal pain and anaphylaxis – these symptoms can cause difficulty swallowing or breathing, poor circulation and loss of consciousness and, although rare, symptoms can be fatal.

Judith Hedgley, Chair of the North East Public Protection Partnership, said: “There are well over 20,000 food businesses across the North East, and many prepare their food safely and manage the risks around food allergens.

“However sometimes things can go wrong and allergen controls are not in place.

“This new website will provide customers across the North East with a simple system to report any allergic reactions they have after eating food from a food business.

“Consumers should be able to make an informed and safe choice when buying or ordering food.

“Food handlers must be able to identify whether the foods they handle contain allergenic ingredients, know how to control food allergens and provide accurate information to customers when asked about food allergens.”

Dr Andrew Bright, Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Allergy and Editor in Chief of BeatAnaphylaxis.co.uk, said: “This is a vitally important initiative that will allow reporting of allergic reactions and better identification of food businesses in the North East where allergen controls are not properly in place.

“Addressing these can help increase consumer safety and reduce the risk of allergic reactions occurring accidentally.”

The website form can be used when a person has bought or consumed food containing an allergen and they think they have had an adverse reaction from that food.

• The allergic reaction report website is

Northeast Allergic Reaction Notification - Introduction - Section 1 - My Account (achieveservice.com)

The series of videos on food allergies and anaphylaxis are available as a simple and readily accessible education and training resource for all food businesses.

They can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz3yV2kde1-OwXMtTWiwmx6O1w5JMhvST

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