The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has called for restaurant menus to display allergy information. The FSA is supporting the campaign for a law to be introduced called “Owen’s Law,” launched by the family of a teenager who died after suffering an allergic reaction. Owen Carey died after informing the restaurant that he was allergic to dairy and eating chicken that contained buttermilk. Two million people in the UK have food allergies, intolerances, or are coeliac, prompting the FSA to agree that allergy information should be presented on menus. The FSA confirmed that members of its board would write to the government about this issue.
During a meeting, the FSA suggested that written allergy information should be a necessity in restaurants and coffee shops, with expectations for conversations between staff and customers. Since Owen Carey’s death, his family has campaigned for a law change. Following the meeting, Owen’s father, Paul Carey, expressed his pleasure at the result, stating that he “had a tear in his eye” and was “having a little celebratory whisky” due to the “good results.” He hoped that the law change would provide comfort to people with allergies when eating out as they would be able to see what is in their food.
FSA chairwoman Professor Susan Jebb confirmed that the Board felt that food businesses like coffee shops and restaurants had to provide allergen information in writing as well as engaging in a conversation. She added that written information should be a legal requirement. The FSA is responsible for food safety and hygiene across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, so Prof Jebb will write to the relevant ministers in these three nations, as well as her counterpart in Scotland, with the expectations of these changes being adopted on a four-country basis. In the meantime, the FSA plans to develop guidance on how to provide written allergen information. The law change follows the introduction of “Natasha’s Law” in 2021, which requires on-site pre-packaged foods, such as sandwiches, to have a complete list of ingredients due to the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after eating a baguette containing sesame bought from Pret-a-Manger in 2016
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