The Member of Parliament for Mid Sussex, Mims Davies, who was diagnosed with coeliac disease over eighteen years ago and as a result has a strict gluten-free diet has welcomed a Westminster Hall debate this week to promote greater allergy awareness
The UK has some of the highest prevalence rates of allergic conditions in the world, with over 20% of the population affected by one or more allergic disorder. Furthermore, a staggering 44% of British adults now suffer from at least one allergy and the number of sufferers is on the rise, growing by around 2 million between 2008 and 2009 alone.
In 2021, Mims was proud to be a champion of ‘Natasha’s Law’, a law which requires all food retailers and operators to display full ingredient and allergen information on every food item they sell pre-packed for direct sale.
However, despite this landmark legislative change, too many food firms slap a catch-all “may contain” on their products. That means that identifying food that can be safely consumed is an ongoing hazard for people with food allergies.
And that has a grim impact. It is both alarming and limiting to live with an allergy which could cause a severe or life-threatening reaction at any time. As one parent of a child with multiple and severe food allergies told Allergy UK, “every meal is a source of constant anxiety and fear”.
Therefore, we need to do more to ensure that parents can feed their children without fear of anaphylaxis, illness and, in the worst case, death.
Living with coeliac disease, I know the daily struggle of knowing what I can and can’t eat, and very often go without rather than ‘risking’ a reaction, which can leave me feeling incredibly sick and unwell. Meanwhile, as the Mum of two daughters in a family that also has a peanut allergy which is luckily relatively mild on the scale, I was heartbroken by the needless death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, and recognise the huge difference Natasha’s Law has been in the fight for greater allergy awareness.
The government has responded rapidly to the allergy crisis our country faces. It has pledged investment into research for food allergies as well as the introduction of “Natasha’s Law”.
Our next priority should be funding the expansion of a specialist allergy workforce and expanding allergy training to already-qualified GPs. Establishing a National Allergy Strategy and a National Clinical Director for allergy, alongside the current immunology lead, would also establish a dedicated champion for patients with allergy within NHS structures.
Following Allergy Awareness Week, now is the time to take allergy seriously.