I beg to move,
That this House has considered e-petitions 585304 and 589716, relating to food labelling and support for people with allergies.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Graham. I thank the petitioners for their campaign; I know that they are here today. Together, the petitions have received over 33,000 signatures. The first petition states:
“The Government should appoint an Allergy Tsar to act as a champion for people with allergies to ensure they receive appropriate support and joined up health care to prevent avoidable deaths”.
The second petition, on Owen’s law, asks for a change in the law around labelling in UK restaurants. It has three parts. First, it asks that restaurants
“put all information about allergens in their food on the face of the main menu so customers have full visibility on what they're ordering.”
Secondly, it requires servers to
“initiate a discussion with customers about allergies on all occasions”.
Finally, it states that there should be a register for all anaphylaxis deaths.
Those are the petitions, and I will discuss why the petitioners are asking for these measures. Sadly, they have suffered unbearable losses. Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died in 2016 after eating a baguette that did not have a complete list of ingredients. The baguette contained sesame seeds, to which Natasha was allergic. That caused her to suffer an allergic reaction, which resulted in her death. She was only 15—so young. Natasha’s parents Tanya and Nadim have already been successful in their campaign for Natasha’s law, which enforces a requirement for all pre-packed sandwiches to contain a list of ingredients and which became law in October 2021.
The second petition was started by Owen Carey’s sister Emma. Owen suffered from multiple allergies all his life and was used to ordering meals for his restricted diet. In April 2017, he ordered a chicken burger at a restaurant. He explained his allergies to the server; with no other information available, he was assured that he was safe. However, the chicken was marinated in buttermilk, to which Owen was very allergic. He knew instantly that something was wrong. He had a massive reaction and, after 45 minutes, collapsed and died. He died celebrating his 18th birthday—again, so young. They were both young people with their entire life ahead of them. We can all clearly see why Natasha and Owen’s families want to stop anyone else going through this.
I spoke to the families of Natasha and Owen so that they could explain to me in their own words exactly what they are trying to achieve. I am grateful to them for that. It appears that both petitions go hand in hand.
The petitioners believe that if we had a tsar, they would have a champion who could work with families who have suffered bereavement and with charities that want to help, along with frontline staff, proprietors, supply chain businesses, the Food Standards Agency and all Government Departments that share an interest. It is a straightforward ask.