An explosion in food allergies is placing more pressure on food businesses to guarantee full product traceability.
Research from supply chain consultancy Trace One found that adverse reactions to food are growing at a startling rate with the number of hospital admissions for serious reactions growing by almost 75% in England in the last ten years.
For anaphylactic shock specifically – the most severe of allergic reactions – the number of hospital admissions almost doubled.
“It’s clear from our research that we are facing a huge rise in both minor and major food allergies that can’t be explained away by factors such as population growth,” said Shaun Bossons, EVP for global business development at Trace One.
Boswell said one possible reason for the spike in admissions was that the growing complexity of processed foods has increased the potential for unlabelled allergens to be introduced, either by accident or as a result of food fraud.
He added: “Transparency in the food supply industry will be a major step in limiting any further growth in the admissions rate.”
