«Breaking News» ALL food retailers will have to display allergy warnings under new 'Natasha's Law'

Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died from an allergic reaction after eating a Pret sandwich

Food retailers will have to list all the ingredients in their products, or use allergy warnings, under plans announced today to close a deadly labelling loophole.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove will unveil the proposals, which aim to ensure that sandwiches and other products are clearly marked for those with life-threatening allergies.

The plans are a response to the death of 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who went into fatal shock on a flight after eating a Pret A Manger baguette containing sesame seeds.

It later emerged that the food retailer had exploited a gap in the law which means producers do not have to put ingredient or allergen labels on food they make on-site.

In the wake of Natasha's death, her parents, Tanya and Nadim, campaigned for a 'Natasha's Law' to close this loophole and ensure all food carries warning labels.

Last night, they welcomed the plans, which will be subject to consultation, and praised Mr Gove's 'personal support' for their cause. Others, however, fear the move could hit poorly-staffed small outlets.

Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, meeting Environment Secretary Michael Gove - who will announce plans for Natasha's Law imminently

'We welcome the consultation into allergen labelling and would like to thank Michael Gove for his personal support, and for moving so swiftly towards new rules for the food industry', her family said.

'For too long, food producers and retailers have been playing Russian Roulette with people's lives. If you sell allergens, which to many people can be poisons, you should have a public, moral and legal duty to inform customers. There must be no backsliding where profits are put before safety. It shouldn't be too much to ask so that other families don't have to go through the unbearable grief that we will always endure.'

As the law stands, food produced off site and brought into a shop has to carry a label showing the full ingredients. But retailers who prepare food on site, such as Pret A Manger, are exempt. As a result, customers often rely on generalised warning labels on display cabinets, or ask staff.

As the law stands, food produced off site and brought into a shop has to carry a label showing the full ingredients

Today's document sets out options to toughen the law and help protect the UK's two million allergy sufferers. Depending on which is chosen, it could mean all food products are labelled with their full ingredients, or just warning labels on specific allergens, or labels saying 'ask the staff'.

Q&A 

How does law work now?

Under current legislation, there are different rules for pre-packaged foods depending on whether they are produced on the premises or elsewhere. Sandwiches and salads packaged off-site and transported to shops need to carry ingredients labels. But food packed by staff on the same premises as they are sold are not required to carry labels. Instead, it relies on customers asking staff for information about allergens and being told what is in them – a glaring loophole.

What is Mr Gove proposing?

The plans published today by Environment Secretary Michael Gove offer several options to address the issue. Shops could be required to list the full ingredients on the label or just allergens contained in the product. Both the family of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse and Mr Gove are thought to back the more rigorous full-ingredients option.

What does the industry say?

Many food companies already publish allergen information on their food. Pret a Manger announced after the inquest into Natasha's death that it would move to 'full-ingredient labelling', meaning that all ingredients, including allergens, appear on products. But not all firms follow the same standards. The family's lawyers argue that 'voluntary measures' in the industry have not worked and so a change to the law is essential. But a move to listing full ingredients could face resistance from the industry, particularly from smaller outlets.

What happens next?

The consultation will last for nine weeks, during which allergen charities, food producers and the wider public can have their say. Once it has concluded and the responses have been considered, the law can be changed. Mr Gove has privately indicated he wants the new rules to come into force by the summer.

Mr and Mrs Ednan-Laperouse argue for the most rigorous option – that all ingredients must be shown. But they fear that move could face objections from the food industry on cost grounds.

They said only 'full and transparent labelling' will give people the information they need to stay safe. 'Anything less cannot be a law in Natasha's name,' they said.

Last night Mr Gove, who is understood to back the full-ingredient labelling option, said: 'Natasha's parents have suffered a terrible loss, and I want to pay tribute to Nadim and Tanya for their inspirational work to deliver Natasha's law.

'We want to ensure that labels are clearer and that the rules for businesses are more consistent – so that allergy sufferers in this country can have confidence in the safety of their food.' Schoolgirl Natasha had suffered an allergy to sesame seeds since the age of two.

The inquest into her death heard both she and her father checked the Pret baguette but were 'reassured' by the lack of any allergy warnings on the pack.

Pret part-bakes its baguettes and sends them to high street shops where they are baked. The coroner concluded stickers on its food display units were 'inadequate'.

The inquest heard there had been nine sesame-related allergy incidents in the year before she died. Natasha was travelling to Nice for a break with her father and best friend in July 2016 when she bought the baguette at Heathrow Terminal 5.

After eating it, she collapsed, begging her father: 'Daddy, help me. I can't breathe,' the inquest heard. She used two epipens but suffered a cardiac arrest and died at a French hospital. Pret later apologised over her death.

Michelle Victor, a partner at Leigh Day which represents the family, said: 'The law should compel companies to tell people what they are eating, unfortunately voluntary measures in the industry have not worked and the tragic consequences of a loophole in the law led to death of Natasha, when a simple label could have saved her life.'

Since Natasha's tragic death, her parents have been campaigning for retailers to clearly display allergy information

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Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died from an allergic reaction after eating a Pret sandwich

Food retailers will have to list all the ingredients in their products, or use allergy warnings, under plans announced today to close a deadly labelling loophole.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove will...

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