Allergy Awareness for Caterers
Publish Date: Friday, 27 October 2006
In the UK, 10 people die every year from an allergic reaction to food and many more end up in hospital. In order to highlight and raise awareness of this important issue, Dungannon & South Tyrone Borough Council in partnership with Armagh City & District Council, recently organized an Allergy Awareness Seminar for local caterers.
Monica Magennis of Dungannon & South Tyrone Borough Council says:
"In most cases, the food that causes the reaction is from a catering establishment. Allergic reactions may be caused by any foods, but severe allergic reactions are most commonly caused by peanuts, nuts such as almonds or hazelnuts, fish, shellfish, sesame seeds, eggs, milk and Soya. There are approximately 1million people in the UK who suffer from allergies."
Hazel Gowland of the Anaphylaxis Society delivered a presentation advising the businesses on the steps which should be taken to minimise the risks to allergic consumers and Mervyn Briggs from the Food Standards Agency, Northern Ireland provided supplementary information on descriptive terms used by caterers on menus.
The seminar was held in the Market Place Theatre, Armagh on 17th October 2006 and was supported by a number of local food businesses. For further information, please contact Monica Magennis, Senior Environmental Health Officer on 028 8772 0366.
