NATASHA’S LAW (Food Allergen Awareness Course) 

Natasha’s Law (Food Allergen Awareness Course) is a recent amendment to the UK Food Information Regulations 2014 which aims to protect food allergy sufferers by increasing transparency within the food industry to ensure that consumers are fully aware of the allergen content of the food they are buying. Food allergen training is therefore recommended for all food business staff.

Many believe that the death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse (15) could have been prevented if the pre-packed baguette containing sesame seeds which she consumed had been properly labelled to draw attention to the allergen content.

Natasha’s Law which took effect on October 1 2021 requires all food produced and packed for sale on the same premises to bear a complete list of ingredients. Any food business selling Prepacked for Direct Sale (PPDS) foods is now required to identify all ingredients on its label, with an emphasis on the 14 allergenic ingredients stated under Food Law. This includes foods sold in foil wrappers or paper bags.

This new legislation covers England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

The estimated duration of this Natasha’s Law (Food Allergen Awareness Course) is 1.5 hours. Candidates may log in and out of the system and therefore do not need to complete the course in a single sitting. Learner course progress is automatically saved, so that they may return to the course whenever they wish and as a result course completion is entirely in the hands of the learner.

This online Natasha’s Law (Food Allergen Awareness Course) is suitable for the induction of new staff members or development training of existing staff members. It will enable them to understand how allergens can affect the business in which they are working and their subsequent responsibilities.

The Food Allergen Awareness course consists of 3 core units, concluded by a final exam:

1. CHARACTERISTICS AND CONSEQUENCES.
2. IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL.
3. COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION.

Each unit consists of topics and interim quizzes which must be completed before progress.  At each stage, learners must click a ‘MARK COMPLETE’ button to progress. This serves as a means by which course progress can be tracked and is particularly useful in situations where learners are enrolled by a manager.

By the end of the Natasha’s Law (Food Allergen Awareness Course), learners should.

• Identify the common symptoms of allergic reactions and food intolerance.
• Recognise the importance of providing accurate allergen information and the potential implications of failing to provide correct information to consumers.
• Identify food allergen cross-contamination hazards and controls at specific process steps from purchase to service.
• Understand methods of locating accurate allergen information.
• Identify common food allergens and foods commonly causing intolerance.
• Know common sources and vehicles of contamination, and appropriate hygiene controls that food handlers should follow to prevent allergenic contamination in catering businesses.
• Recognise how allergen information can be provided effectively.