Bereaved dad says allergy advice must become law

The father of a teenager who died from an allergic reaction to restaurant food has said new guidance for food outlets must become a legal obligation.

Paul Carey's 18-year-old son Owen, from Crowborough in East Sussex, died after unwittingly eating dairy at a London burger bar in 2017.

Mr Carey has said he would push the government to ensure new guidance issued by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in March about "readily available" written allergen information becomes law.

A decision on further measures will be made following consideration of how the guidance is implemented and used.

Owen, who went to school in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, ordered skinny grilled chicken at Byron's O2 Arena branch in London for his 18th birthday in April 2017.

He informed staff about his allergy but was not told buttermilk was included.

Owen had a severe reaction, went into anaphylactic shock and died shortly after.

Since his death, his family have campaigned to make it compulsory for restaurants to display allergens in each dish on their menus at the point of ordering.

Byron previously said it had improved all allergen procedures after the death.

Dr James Cooper, deputy director of food policy at the FSA, said: "We are committed to making lives better for the two million people with food allergies and the many more with food intolerance or coeliac disease.

"The legal requirement for food businesses to give written allergen information was recommended by the FSA board in December 2023.

"While ministers consider whether legislation should be introduced, we have produced best practice guidance for industry."

The guidance states that "written allergen information should be readily available, if possible, without consumers having to ask for it, such as on the main menu, allergen booklet on a counter or matrix displayed on a wall in a consumer-accessible area".

Restaurants have been advised the allergen information should be easy to use, clear, accurate, and include all of the main 14 allergens.

If the allergen information is not on the menu, a message should be printed on the menu to let customers know where to find it.

Staff should also know where to find the information and be able to tell the consumer where it is, the guidance states.

Mr Carey said this largely set out what he wanted to see become Owen's Law.

"The only matter now is that this remains only guidance," he said.

"It's a good step forward but what we need now is for the guidance to change the regulations and become legislation."

Mr Carey said he would be seeking a second meeting with Defra Minister Daniel Zeichner to impress on him the need to convert this into law.

"I'm hopeful that he will give us an audience and I'm cautiously optimistic that he will agree to the law change," Mr Carey said.

Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) are in contact with the FSA and discussing the implementation of advice.

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