Restaurants in the UK are currently required to provide information on the top 14 allergens in the EU only. They are not required to provide any further information about ingredients in their foods nor are they required to provide information about allergens outside the top 14. This places people with allergies at considerable risk and must change.

My 7 year old son Noah has suffered with a variety of food allergies since he was 10 months old. He currently has to avoid 8 different foods, most of which are not listed on the EU top 14.
Noah’s allergies are life threatening with the most severe allergy being to peas (including pea protein/flour/starch). Pea products can be found in a range of processed foods such as sausages, burgers, lasagne and even ice-cream. Yet Restaurants are not required to highlight this to customers.
Eating outside of our home is extremely challenging for us as a family because many restaurants state they either don’t know the ingredients of the food on their menu or simply refuse to share the information with us. As recently as last week we were assured that a burger was safe for Noah to eat when in fact it contained pea protein resulting in a severe reaction.

Sadly Noah’s story is not unique. Allergies are increasingly prevalent in our country and I believe that we can do better to support sufferers to enjoy some of life’s simple pleasures like a meal out with family.
While on holiday in Disneyland in the US a couple of years ago, we witnessed what I believe should become law in the UK. Each restaurant or food cart we attended was able to provide a file or ipad with a breakdown of every single ingredient in every food item on their menu. This allowed us to quickly and easily check what was safe for Noah to eat.
I am petitioning to change the law to enforce all places that serve food, to not only provide an allergen list but to provide a comprehensive breakdown of ingredients used in all food items served. This approach will save lives.