A new law on allergy labelling has come into effect, five years after a 15-year-old died from a reaction to a Pret a Manger sandwich.
Natasha’s Law means that, from today, shops and cafés must display a full list of ingredients on foods prepared in-store.
It is named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died of anaphylaxis in 2016 after eating sesame in an artichoke and olive baguette.
She suffered multiple cardiac arrests onboard a flight to Nice and later died in a French hospital.
READ MORE: 8 in 10 business owners ‘unprepared’ for Natasha’s Law
Natasha’s parents spent years campaigning to close the labelling loophole which caused their daughter’s death.
“Today we really feel like we’ve achieved it and it feels really special,” her mother, Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, told BBC Breakfast.
Her father, Nadhim Ednan-Laperouse, added: “This is not what a great British nation should accept, that young people can die in this day and age because of the food they eat.”
“All it takes is more joined-up thinking to better protect them.”
The coroner at the 2018 inquest into Natasha’s death concluded that Pret a Manger’s allergy labelling was inadequate.
The chain did not add sesame seeds onto the label of their “artisan” baguettes despite six allergic reactions in the year before Natasha died.
Although businesses were given two years to prepare for Natasha’s Law, a recent poll showed eight in ten are still not ready.
Speaking to the Grocery Gazette, mpro5 sector director Sam Roberts said the rules “will not be easy” and that retailers must establish good relationships with their suppliers.
“Even the slightest tweak to an ingredient could have huge implications,” he said.
Click here to sign up to Grocery Gazette’s free daily email newsletter
1 Comment. Leave new
Good, I notice that bread, cakes, ready made food often didn’t have labelling. All good should but people should avoid food where they know they have an allergy. Unfortunately we get food fraud which harms people too.