Many people are intolerant or allergic to some foods in their diet. This means they have an unusual and usually unpleasant, reaction to certain foods. Some reactions are mild, for example a slight rash, while others are severe and life threatening. An allergy is a type of intolerance.
Types Of Allergies and Intolerances
Coeliac disease
Coeliac disease is sensitivity to the protein, gluten, which is found in wheat, barley, rye and oats. (It is not actually an allergy). The only way to control the disease is to have a gluten-free diet. Many staple foods, such as bread and pasta, contain wheat and specially-prepared gluten-free products are available for sufferers.
Peanut Allergy
Peanut allergy is an anaphylactic food allergy. Anaphylactic shock is the name given to a massive allergic reaction within the body. It is a serious, potentially fatal condition that may develop, in sensitive individuals, within a few seconds or minutes of eating peanuts.
Wheat Allergy
This gives symptoms of asthma, itchy skin and/or diarrhoea in people who are sensitive to wheat. Whereas coeliacs are only sensitive to the wheat protein, sufferers of wheat allergy are sensitive to the whole grain, including wheat starch.
Milk Intolerance
Some people cannot drink cows' milk as it causes eczema due to a sensitivity to cows' milk protein. Others cannot digest lactose (the natural sugar found in milk) due to a lack of an enzyme. Babies and children with an intolerance to cows' milk can be prescribed to suitable soya-based milk substitute. Adults can use goats' or ewes' milk if the intolerance is due to cows' protein. (These milks still contain lactose).
Egg Allergy
This can produce eczema and a rash (similar to that produced by nettles). It can also lead to a severe anaphylactic reaction. Sufferers need to avoid all eggs and egg products.
Fish and Shellfish
"Nettle rash" or urticaria is a mild response to these products but they can lead to anaphylactic shock in severe cases.
What does Tesco do to Help?
Labelling
European legislation means we have to label certain allergens (see list below). We do this in two ways:-
1. All ingredients are listed in the ingredients list - however small an amount is added.
2. We put an allergy advice box on the back of pack.
3. As nut allergy is very serious then Tesco labelling is more detailed. We don't just label when nuts are actually present in a product, but also if nuts are used in the factory and if the ingredients may have traces of nuts - all as part of the allergy advice box.
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Allergens:
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§ Peanuts
§ Nuts (walnuts, cashew, hazelnuts, brazils, almonds etc)
§ Eggs
§ Crustaceans (prawns, crabs, lobster)
§ Molluscs (squid, mussels, cockles, whelks, snails)
§ Fish
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§ Sesame Seeds
§ Cereals containing gluten (wheat, barley, oats, rye)
§ Soya
§ Lupin
§ Celery
§ Mustard
§ Sulphur Dioxide/Sulphates
§ Milk
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Free From Range
The range is all wheat and gluten free and some products are milk free too. Tesco products labelled as gluten free have less than 20 ppm (parts per million) gluten.
See www.tescorealfood.com/Our-food/free-from for more information.
Allergy App
We have teamed up with FoodWiz to provide our product data for a smart phone app. Foodwiz instantly identifies allergens in Food and Drink using the camera on smart phones. Simply point the smart phone camera at the barcode on the product packaging, and the FoodWiz App will identify the product by the barcode, and display whether the product matches your lifestyle. Foodwiz is a great application because it is so quick and simple to use and is also supported by Allergy UK.
www.foodwiz.co
Products Lists
We produce product lists every 3 months (March, June, September and December) for the following dietary needs:
Gluten Free *
Milk Free
* Products in this list are made without gluten containing cereals. This means that the following cereals are not used as ingredients; Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rye, Products derived from these ingredients (and which still contain the gluten protein)
Products listed here are not guaranteed to be free from all gluten as this has a specific legal meaning and they won’t be tested
Where can you go for more information?
Coeliac UK 0845 305 2060 www.coeliac.co.uk
Foods Matter 020 7722 2866 www.foodsmatter.com
Anaphylaxis Campaign 01252 542029 www.anaphylaxis.org.uk
Allergy UK 01322 619898 www.allergyuk.org