In honour of our beautiful angel, Isabel, taken too soon
13.11.08-15.03.2018
I’m Isabel’s Mum, and I’m campaigning for food companies to change their product packaging after my beautiful nine-year-old daughter died from a severe allergic reaction when eating the wrong biscuit. I don’t want any parents to go through what I have been through these last few months. Let me tell you why.
My daughter Isabel went into anaphylactic shock after eating an allergen-containing biscuit wrapped in almost identical packaging to the non-allergen version. It was a tragic mistake, but this is a tragedy that should be avoidable.
That’s why I’m campaigning to make sure that allergen-containing products are clearly labelled on the front of the packet. Not just in the small print of the ingredient list, but much more visible.
There haven’t been any real changes to the way Food Standards Australia label food packaging for allergens in 16 years. Think about how much has changed in regards to food allergies since that time. It’s a completely different world. As parents, we need Food Standards Australia to do more to help keep our kids safe.
I am calling for an allergen symbol to be implemented on the front of food package as a warning, just like the symbols we see letting us know food products are gluten-free, Australian made, halal, or approved by the Heart Foundation. Why do these symbols exist and not an allergen one, when allergies can be fatal? An allergen symbol could help prevent this.
These changes should include mandatory warnings for any differences between products that are within the same brand, and clear warnings when ingredients are added to, or removed from, any products.
I am reaching out to prevent any more deaths due to something that should have been changed a long time ago.
Regulations on food packaged labelling need to change.
Please help me make this change, and help me honour the memory of my beautiful angel, Isabel.
