The other MPs supporting the campaign include Andy Slaughter, Gill Furniss and Sarah Green as well as Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill who raised the issue in the House of Lords recently. Gittins, who has a severe nut allergy, became a ambassador for the charity last year.
Gittins told The Times: “I have been working closely with the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation on how we can better ensure that the voices of those living with allergies are heard. I want to see Governments across the UK work to reduce allergy rates, reduce the number of fatalities and near-misses from anaphylaxis and cut the costs of allergic disease.”
According to research by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) around 6% of adults in the UK, equivalent to 2.4m people are estimated to have a food allergy. Since 2012, there has been a 615% increase in hospital admissions for anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction.
The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation was founded in 2019 by Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse after their daughter Natasha died aged 15 from a severe allergic reaction to sesame. In 2021 the Natasha Allergy Research Foundation launched a campaign to encourage the Government to appoint an allergy tsar.