Primary Aim: To introduce Nut-Free products for allergy sufferers in supermarkets and beyond!

During COVID-19's Spring UK lockdown, many of us were faced with difficulties accessing basic foods, such as bread, milk, and eggs. As my partner and I began to finally get online deliveries, or make rare visits into supermarkets- a new inescapable problem made itself apparent: in-store bakery goods, certain dried fruits and preserves, as well as many cereals and other shelved goods almost all seemed to have 'MAY CONTAIN NUTS', and 'MAY CONTAIN NUTS AND PEANUTS' warnings.

I have a fatal peanut allergy, so if I see these warnings, it means I can't take the risk of consuming that product. Yet, almost overnight, these warnings have appeared on many products and well-known brands that have never featured them before- quickly broadening into everything from cereal to confectionary, and from ready meals to deli-style products. Cafes like Starbucks have even recently started making novelty products that include a 'peanut buttercup frappe.' 

All this, despite the UK having one of the largest allergy-suffering populations in the Western World- 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. Almost half (48%) of sufferers also have more than one allergy – that is around 10 million people (Foods Matter, 2010). Of this number, there are nearly 100,000 new cases annually of tree-nut and peanut allergies (Fleischer, et al., 2015).

I have been asked before in my life why I don't take the gamble of eating these foods that only 'may contain' allergens. The reason why is because in the 20 years leading up to 2012 there was a 615% increase in the rate of hospital admissions for allergen-related anaphylaxis in the UK (Turner PJ, 2015).

In addition to this, many allergies are potentially fatal, mine included. In July 2016, a teenage girl on a BA flight from Heathrow tragically died from a sesame seed allergy, despite receiving two life-saving EpiPen treatments- the 10th person to have a reaction to Pret A Manger's then still undisclosed sesame-containing pre-prepared baguette. In a not too dissimilar event in 2014, ITV producer Amy May Shead- after which the brilliant charity Amy Trust is named, had an allergic reaction to nut traces in a meal in Budapest that was said to be nut-free, and can no longer walk, talk, or see, also despite several life-saving EpiPens being administered. In a world where events like this can happen anytime and anywhere, food products need to cater to people with such serious allergies.

In recent years- there has been no shortage of headlines and campaigns trying to get much-needed nut-warnings added to products, but the overall problem is the same- so many products that don't actually contain nuts still have ingredients which come into contact with nuts at their source. This needs to change.

My first solution to this was to go to the free-from section of the supermarket, with there now being so many vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free alternatives for people with allergies or wanting to make lifestyle changes, I was sure there would be a nut-free alternative available- particularly for baked goods and cereal, as this was what I was having the most difficulty getting. 

However, in all five of the major supermarkets I visited (Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury's, Waitrose, and Marks and Spencer) many of the products in the free-from sections had the same nut warnings as elsewhere in the store. The fresh baked goods at all of these stores had nut warnings that meant anyone with nut allergies cannot consume them- meaning there is often little to no availability of basic items such as fresh bread that I can have. 

This is why I'm campaigning for change- I want supermarkets and consumer-brands to begin catering to people with nut allergies. I should be able to buy basic groceries without the risk of a hospital visit and so should millions of others.

(Statistics, references, and further reading courtesy of AllergyUK.org)