With a child with Coeliac disease, we understand how challenging it can be for people with allergies to go out for dinner or order ready meals. Australian food label requirements mean that a meal can’t claim it’s allergen-free and simultaneously state that the products are manufactured in an environment containing that allergen. While this makes sense, it means those with allergies need to look more closely at labels to determine if a meal is safe for them.
We've been receiving a few calls about the changes on our packaging, so here’s our top tip on how to read a food label. We hope it helps, as food labels can be a bit of a minefield!
The ingredients list is the best place to start. Allergens must be declared in the ingredient list using plain language and in bold. For example “Cream (milk), Oats (gluten).” A separate allergen statement starting with the word ‘Contains’ is near the ingredient list to help quickly identify any allergens present. For example, "Contains: Milk, Gluten."
At Farm Door we make a variety of delicious meals. Although we take all due care to avoid allergen cross contamination, we voluntarily label our meals with the below precautionary allergen statement which lists all the food allergens that we have in our kitchen, even if they are not in that individual meal.
Made in a kitchen that also processes milk, soy, egg, nuts, wheat, gluten, fish & crustacea.
Before Freddie got sick and was diagnosed with Coeliac disease, I wasn't fully aware of the seriousness of food allergies. The silver lining is that, as a family, we now diligently read food labels and often make different buying choices because of it. It’s amazing how different the ingredients can be in simple products like rice crackers—some 'simple-sounding' products can have a complex ingredient list. I'm now a massive advocate for the general health benefits of reading food labels, even if you don’t have allergies!
At Farm Door, we take our internal allergen controls very seriously. With a child who has an almost immediate reaction to gluten and who eats Farm Door meals most weeknights, we are pretty proud of our gluten-free menu. Here are some of Freddie’s favourites:
