Calls for Guernsey to introduce allergen labels on menus and food packaging

• Roisin Gauson reports...

A woman in Guernsey, whose friend has an acute shellfish allergy, is calling for tighter food labelling after they found a prawn in her dish from a local Chinese takeaway.

Guernsey is one of the last places in Europe that doesn't have legislation surrounding allergen labelling which would require restaurants, cafes and kiosks to identify any allergens within the food that is being served.

Jersey agreed to make it mandatory last year after the island's Environment Minister lodged a proposition to update the food safety law dating back to 1966.

Abbie Allen, whose friend is allergic to prawns, spoke to the takeaway after receiving their food.

Abbie said: "She would have gone into anaphylactic shock - we would have had to administer an epi-pen if that was available to us quick enough, obviously phone the ambulance and I mean, she could have potentially died if she had eaten them."

• Abbie Allen's friend found shellfish in her meal from a local takeaway

Allergy specialist, Dr Stephen Wray thinks food labelling legislation should be brought in for the island.

He says: "I'd like this case to be a catalyst for change. Thankfully the vast majority of allergies don't get to that stage, but we've got to do all we can and I think we will locally.

"It's just following a well-worn route in the EU, UK and Jersey - the laws seem to be working quite well there."

Changes to Jersey's legislation brought the island closer in line with the UK, which introduced 'Natasha's Law' in 2021.

It requires all food businesses to include full ingredients labelling on pre-packaged food.

The law came into force following the death of teenager Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died after suffering an allergic reaction to unlabelled sesame seeds in a Pret-A-Manger baguette.

Despite the lack of legislation in Guernsey, some food outlets do train their staff and have documents containing all allergens in their meals.

Managing Director of the Silvester Group, Natalie Silvester, says: "We mark it all on a spreadsheet and if somebody would like to request a spreadsheet to see what sort of allergen is in the ingredients included in the dish then they can do so.

"We noticed the change in the last few years and I think it's a necessity to provide educated information as well. To take all illnesses, and intolerances very seriously."

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