Deaths from food allergies in the UK have fallen in recent years, but, tragically they still happen and many consumers are at risk, making it vital that shops have the software in their till systems to spot when goods contain ingredients that could cause a severe reaction.

The latest confirmed case, as ruled by a coroner in Bristol, revealed mother of five Celia Marsh had died after eating a vegetarian flatbread product at a Pret a Manger outlet in Bath in December 2017. 

Ms Marsh had an acute dairy allergy and the product included a dressing made with coconut yoghurt that, while labelled dairy-free, had traces of milk in it. Although the manufacturer had flagged up the risk of cross-contamination, this information had not been passed on to customers. This may lead to calls for a further tightening of food safety and labelling laws.

This incident happened nearly four years before the implementation last October of Natasha’s Law, named after a teenager who had died of anaphylactc shock on board a plane after eating a baguette that had not had the presence of sesame seeds disclosed on its packaging. Now, any product listed as pre-packaged for direct sale must have allergen details on its labels. 

Using Epos Touch screen till systems is a great way to be sure that your store is compliant with this law and that anyone with allergies who is buying your products can do so safely and in confidence. The devices will pick up any allergen information and make it available, so that purchases can be halted if any harmful ingredients are detected.

A study by Imperial College London of NHS data published early last year, before Natasha’s Law was introduced, said that although two million Britons are affected by serious food allergies, there were fewer than ten deaths a year from this. However, hospital admissions had nearly tripled between 1998 and 2018.

The study also showed that the dangers were changing, with milk allergies - like that which killed Celia Marsh - now the most common problem, rather than nut or peanut allergies of which there is greater awareness.