Rise in home-based businesses creates new safety worries amid pandemic (19 February 2021)

Summary

The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation (NARF) has added its voice to a chorus of growing safety concerns about the rise in businesses operating out of people’s homes.

NARF said urgent government intervention on food safety standards is required to deal with the subject that has gained increased attention during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, founder of Natasha’s Foundation, said the emergence of tens of thousands of at-home and dark kitchens during the COVID-19 pandemic raises fears about food safety, particularly for the two million plus people in the UK who have food allergies.

“...we need ministerial intervention, laws to ensure businesses are regulated, inspected and rated, and an urgent commitment to boost resources targeted at food safety. The cost of failure for many families will be too high.”

The Foundation was set up by the parents of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse who died in 2016 after an allergic reaction to sesame in a baguette. It has been instrumental in new labeling legislation, called Natasha’s Law, that will come into force in the UK beginning in October.