As a parent of a 5-year-old daughter diagnosed with coeliac disease at the end of 2023, I know firsthand the challenges faced by families trying to provide healthy, gluten-free meals. Coeliac disease is not just about avoiding gluten; it's about ensuring that no food we purchase has even been contaminated with gluten. This means we can only buy products that do not mention "may contain" gluten anywhere on their packaging.

The transition to this new diet is challenging enough for a young child who was used to eating anything and everything. But the scarcity of choices and high costs associated with gluten-free options have made this transition even more difficult.

Supermarket chains offer an abundance of meat-free vegan options but fall short when it comes to catering for those who require a strict gluten-free diet due to medical conditions like coeliac disease. The few available options are often priced 2-3 times higher than their regular counterparts, creating an unfair financial burden on families like ours. Coeliac UK recently published a statement that on average a food-shop with gluten-free food is 35% more expensive than the gluten containing equivalent.

We urge all supermarket chains to increase their range of affordable, safe-to-eat, gluten-free products so that individuals living with coeliac disease can enjoy variety in their diets without breaking the bank. Please sign this petition and help us make supermarkets more inclusive for everyone!