North East food venues given advice after allergic reaction

Thousands of food businesses will be given fresh safety advice after a woman suffered an anaphylactic shock from eating peanuts.

Councils in the North East have joined together for a campaign highlighting the dangers of food allergens.

Some businesses had been found to have "put their customers at risk", Gateshead Council said.

Eleanor Lincoln became ill after eating a takeaway curry containing nuts from Khan's in Newcastle in March 2021.

She had eaten the meal to celebrate her 18th birthday. After being treated in hospital she was discharged.

The restaurant, in Heaton Road, failed to omit the ingredient from her meal despite a specific request to do so because she was allergic.

It later admitted it had "missed" Ms Lincoln's request, the first such incident in its 23 years trading, and was fined in October last year.

Every council in the region will now provide new training for food businesses as part of the campaign.

This includes a series of videos explaining food allergies and raising awareness of anaphylaxis.

"There are well over 20,000 food businesses across the North East and we wanted to work together regionally to provide simple messages to help these businesses prepare their food safely and manage the risks around food allergens," Judith Hedgley, chair of the North East Public Protection Partnership said.

It is thought about 20 deaths related to anaphylaxis could be prevented in the UK each year if life-saving guidance on food allergens was issued.

Ms Hedgley said: "Consumers should be able to make an informed and safe choice when buying or ordering food.

"Food handlers must be able to identify whether the foods they handle contain allergenic ingredients, know how to control food allergens, and provide accurate information to customers when asked about food allergens."

As part of the campaign, all of the region's councils are working alongside NHS health professionals.

Dr Andrew Bright, honorary consultant in paediatric allergy, said: "This is a vital campaign to help food businesses across the North East protect their customers from potentially life threatening allergic reactions through safe handling of allergens."

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