Popular Allergen Awareness Resource accessible in more languages

15 Jun 2022 12:43 PM

Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian versions now available

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) in partnership with Trading Standards Wales and the Greater Gwent Food Group has announced a number of new translations of the popular ‘Allergen Awareness Resources’.

Having launched in September 2021, the resources provide vital information to those invested in the food and hospitality sectors, about the dangers of food allergens and their potentially devastating consequences. The resource provides regulatory guidance on allergen ingredient management, food information and labelling rules.

The resources were originally published in English, Welsh, Bengali, Cantonese, Kurdish, Mandarin, Punjabi, Turkish and Urdu to take account of the diversity of those working in the UK's hospitality sector. Now they have been translated into four additional languages, which are Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian, and Polish.

Consumer protection experts hope that the resources will increase knowledge and awareness of food allergens for those working in the hospitality sector and ultimately help to prevent future tragic incidents.

Avoidable deaths from food hypersensitive reactions to food sadly do occur. Recently it was reported that Tania Kaur Khasriya, a student from Ealing, lost consciousness for four years and died after eating a meal containing peanuts at a restaurant in Southall.  The original launch of the resources came just before “Natasha's Law” came into force. Natasha’s Law is named after the late Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who suffered a fatal allergic reaction at just 15 years of age after eating an 'artichoke, olive and tapenade' baguette purchased at Pret a Manger. Natasha had a sesame allergy and wasn’t aware that sesame seeds had been prebaked into the bread.

John Herriman, Chief Executive for CTSI, said: John Herriman, Chief Executive for CTSI, said: "Businesses must understand the importance of allergens and accurate food labelling and take the proper steps to avoid cross contamination. There is a wonderful diversity in the UK food industry and this calls on us to make materials accessible to every community, and I am proud that eastern European languages have been added to the already extensive list of materials.

"Businesses must comply with the law because it can literally mean the difference between life and death. By expanding these materials into more languages, we can reach an ever-widening group of businesses, hopefully lowering the risks for consumers."

The resources are freely available and hosted on the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) website 

Notes: Please contact alison.farrar@powys.go.uk to arrange media interviews.

Supporting videos can be found on the CTSI YouTube channel.

More information about the Food Standards Agency can be found on their website: www.food.gov.uk

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation can be found here: www.narf.org.uk info@narf.org.uk