At the beginning of December, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) launched a consultation to gather views from businesses and consumers on precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) and information.

At a recent FSA led meeting, the BFFF was informed that there had been almost 2000 responses to date. Great you might think? – until you realise that the majority of those, around 87% in fact, were from the public.

The FSA is aware that precautionary allergen labels such as ‘may contain’ can be problematic for both businesses and consumers so to understand how they can improve the use of PAL most effectively for all, they really do need to hear from industry. This is your chance to have your say and put the industry perspective forward!

The consultation survey can be completed online and covers topics including:

• the provision of precautionary allergen information to consumers
• improving guidance and advice for businesses on how and when to use the labelling
• ensuring compliance with regulations
• standardising risk-analysis for allergen cross-contamination.

More detailed information can be found on the Precautionary Allergen Labelling consultation page along with a link to the consultation itself.

Note: The FSA would prefer you respond to the consultation online. However, if this is not possible, please let deniserion@bfff.co.uk know, as the BFFF have been provided with the survey in a word format document which can then be emailed to them at pal.consultation@food.gov.uk

The consultation will be open until 14^th March 2022.

 

A new Better Health marketing campaign has been launched by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to help people prevent the risks of developing serious illness and help reduce the risk of being hospitalised with Covid-19.

Working in partnership with 15 weight management and physical activity partners, the campaign will provide both free and discounted offers and the website will also signpost to local weight management support.

The new campaign highlights 6 benefits, created based on evidence cited in the government’s obesity strategy: Tackling obesity: empowering adults and children to live healthier lives, that could have a lasting impact on a person’s health by being a healthier weight

The DHSC have also launched a new ‘scan, swipe and swap’ feature for the NHS Food Scanner App to help families maintain a healthier diet by suggesting healthier alternatives. This follows a record rise in obesity among children since the start of the pandemic.

You can read more here

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a new online forum to share knowledge and help improve practice on food safety issues.

The Food Safety Community of Practice (COP) is made up of a group of stakeholders around the globe working on food safety issues who share a concern and interest in food safety topics, and who seek to deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area.

The group is free and quick and easy to join and gives members access to monthly email updates, posts about important events in food safety and announcements about quarterly webinars with experts.

If you are interested in joining or finding out more click here.

BFFF would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Nadim and Tanya Ednan- Laperouse on receiving OBEs in recognition for their services to charity and for people with allergic disease.

Following the tragic and avoidable loss of their daughter Natasha after suffering a fatal allergic reaction to sesame seeds in a Baguette, Nadim and Tanya along with the team at Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (NARF) have campaigned tirelessly for a change in the law on how such foods should be labelled.

As a result of their efforts, Natasha’s Law came into force across the UK in October 2021, and now requires a full ingredient declaration with clear allergen labelling on every food item made on the premises and pre-packed for direct sale.

But the work does not end there. Working with some of the best scientists, NARF’s ultimate vision is to prevent and eradicate allergic disease, starting with food allergy, and to create a world that is safe for all individuals.

We are pleased to announce that NARF will be speaking at our Technical Conference on May 12^th 2022, at The British Motor Museum in Gaydon, Warwickshire. Tickets will be available to purchase very soon so keep a look out on our website here and book your tickets early!

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently published the results from a survey they ran to find out more about the publics perception of emerging alternative proteins. It revealed that a third of UK customers would try cultured meat and a quarter would try edible insects. It also found that a greater number (1 in 10 of us) are willing to try plant-based products many of which are already on the market.

The FSA research also highlights how important food safety is to consumers with it being the top factor in encouraging people to try lab-grown meat or edible insects. Assurance around food safety is already the main reason people are willing to eat plant-based proteins.

The survey comes as the FSA reiterates its commitment to supporting food innovation, especially where there are potential benefits for dietary health, for protecting the environment or for boosting the UK economy – but always with consumer interests and food safety as the top priority.

Alternative, or novel, sources of protein for human consumption are an emerging food and are mainly associated with plant proteins, insects and microorganisms.

Highlights of the report include:

• “Awareness of alternative proteins is high amongst consumers, with 90% of respondents reporting that they had heard of plant-based proteins, 80% had heard of edible insects and 78% had heard of lab grown meat.
• “Over three quarters (77%) of respondents perceived plant-based proteins as being safe to eat compared to half (50%) for edible insects and 3 in 10 (30%) for lab grown meat.
• “Six in 10 respondents were willing to try plant-based proteins in their diet, the most common reasons were because they thought it was safe to eat (44%) and for health reasons (39%) or environmental or sustainability (36%) reasons. The biggest barrier to trying plant-based proteins was preference for traditional meats (36%).
• “Around a third (34%) were willing to try lab grown meat and just over a quarter (26%) willing to try edible insects. Environmental and sustainability were the most common reasons for trying lab-grown meat (40%) and edible insects (31%).
• “Respondents who were unwilling to try any of the alternative proteins tested were asked whether anything could encourage them to try it:
  • “Two in five (42%) reported that nothing could encourage them to try lab grown meat, but over a quarter (27%) could be persuaded if they knew it was safe to eat and 23% if they could trust that it was properly regulated.
  • “The majority (67%) reported that nothing could make them try edible insects. One in eight (13%) could be persuaded if they knew it was safe to eat and 11% if they looked appetising.”

To read the full report, click here.

Wrap has partnered up with ‘Behaviour Change’, a social enterprise, to try and align the industries battle against food waste more closely with emissions caused by household waste.

This new partnership will allow them to use behavioural insights and strategies, piloting and testing interventions to ensure government, businesses and charities were working more closely together to tackle climate change.

WRAP confirmed that 45% of UK emissions arose from the products we used and how we used them – with behavioural change a vital part of reaching net zero.

The partnership is aimed at making environmental messaging more effective by engaging directly with the public through the likes of Love Food Hate Waste, Recycle Now, Love Your Clothes and Clear on Plastics.

It will also support environmental commitments made by organisations and governments, including Courtauld 2030 and the UK Plastics Pact.