Food allergies - and young people

New research reveals challenges facing young people with food allergies and intolerances.  A new survey shows over half of young people with a food allergy or intolerance have avoided eating out in the last six months due to their condition.

The results are from a bespoke survey, released by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), in partnership with Allergy UK (AUK) and the Anaphylaxis Campaign (AC), on the views of young people living with food allergies and intolerances. The survey also revealed that while 67% of respondents reported being aware of the legal requirement of food businesses to provide information on the top 14 allergens, only 14% felt extremely confident asking for allergen information when dining out and 14% reported feeling not at all confident. 

Working with AUK and AC, the FSA is launching easy to ASK, a campaign designed to empower young people to ask food businesses about allergens when eating out, so that they can make safe choices.

Easy to ASK is also a reminder to businesses to be up front about the provision of accurate allergen information, particularly with this vulnerable group. Asking a customer if they have food allergies could save a life. The campaign includes the simple mnemonic:

• Always ask about allergies
• Speak up
• Keep safe

More detail can be found here: https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/news/new-research-reveals-challenges-facing-young-people-with-food-allergies-and-intolerances