Why am I passionate about authenticity in our food supply? Because when we get things wrong horrible tragedies can happen; in December 2013 an allergic child died from anaphylaxis because of undeclared dairy ingredient/s in his coconut drink. His parents knew of his dairy allergy and checked the label to make sure that the ‘natural coconut drink’ did not contain cow’s milk before they gave it to him. Unfortunately the label was wrong.
Tragedies like this are preventable. It has taken almost two years and the near death of another child under similar circumstances for widespread action to be taken by the local food regulatory authorities here in Australia.
The importer of the drink has pleaded guilty to charges of labelling in a way that falsely describes food and will be sentenced later this month.
Coconut beverages are being tested and recalled right now, but I’m sad that it has taken such a long time for this to become a high priority for food law enforcement.
For a full report on this incident click here.