An easier way to manage food allergies

Maintaining best practice standards when it comes to managing food allergies can be a life or death situation for early childhood services. A new look food allergen portal will hopefully make this important task easier and more straightforward.

The relaunched portal is the result of a collaboration between industry, consumer and government stakeholders and offers a wide range of information and resources on managing allergens in food.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand CEO, Mark Booth, said the portal, which was launched in August, would make it easier to navigate and access links to food allergy related resources and information.

"The portal has information for food manufacturers and retailers; the food service sector; child care centres and schools; government organisations; health professionals and consumers," said Mr Booth

For people who have a food allergy the best way to manage the allergy is to avoid the food allergen. For this reason, there are laws in place, for example mandatory labelling to help people who have a food allergy avoid food allergens.

"Food allergies can be a matter of life and death so it is vital that each sector can easily find the best available information to help those living with food allergy. All sectors of the community need to be aware of their responsibilities and how they can help people who have a food allergy," he said.

"This portal is an excellent example of what can happen when all stakeholders collaborate to achieve a single purpose," said Mr Booth.

Many sectors in the community also have a role in assisting in managing food allergies including the food industry, health professionals, and schools.

This food allergen portal was created by the Allergen Collaboration to provide different sectors in the community with links to best practice food allergen resources and key messages to promote in the different sectors.

The portal is hosted on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website and you can access it here.