Overcome Food Intolerances, Launches New Food Allergy Restaurant Finder

by PRC Agency PR

After nearly a year of business, the Overcome Food Intolerances team surveyed their readers. This survey asked specifically about the difficulties their readers, people with food allergies and intolerances, faced in their day-to-day life.

The list of difficulties was long and varied, but 70% of those who responded were frustrated by the fact that it was almost impossible to enjoy a meal out with family and friends. Many respondents were just too frightened to eat out, because so many food outlets do not provide reliable information about the ingredients in their meals. They did not want to end up being one of the 5,000 people who are admitted to hospital because of accidentally eating a food that sends them into life threatening anaphylactic shock.

Seeing what a big issue this was for its readers the owners of Overcome Food Intolerances acted and put together an “eating out" page for their website. This new page contains advice about eating out safely with food sensitivities. Here readers get one click access to apps and websites that make it easy to find allergy friendly restaurants, bars and food chains in their area.

Davina Walker, the firm's resource manager, said: “It is early days for this resource, but, with the help of our readers, we will add to it and, over time, it will become much more useful. Our aim is to make it as easy as possible for everyone to find restaurants and takeaways that take the issue of food allergies seriously. We want our readers to be able to enjoy eating out with their friends and family in the future."

You can see the new food allergy resource page here.

Davina went on to explain that eating out with food intolerances and allergies should be easier than it actually is. In 2014, the countries of the European Union introduced new legislation requiring all restaurants, caterers, pubs and cafes to provide information about 14 of the most common allergens. By law, all firms that sell prepared meals to the public in Europe are required to tell the public if their meals or products contain any of the 14 common food allergens.

If the laws were complied with, someone with food sensitivities would be able enjoy a meal out practically anywhere. Unfortunately, studies show that compliance is still poor.

A recent survey carried out by Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) shows that the vast majority of takeaways, pubs, cafes and restaurants, in the UK, are not complying fully with the law. Fifty six percent of the 65 restaurants and takeaways that the RSPH team visited could not provide any information at all about allergens in their dishes. This statistic and the fact that so many readers wanted help with eating out is why the Overcome Food Intolerance team decided to put together a resource page to help people with food allergies to find those few restaurants who are already trying to comply with the law.

You can get more information about recognising and overcoming food sensitivities and food allergies on this website.