Sysco, parent company of convenience foodservice supplier Country Choice, has renewed its partnership with Natasha's Foundation for a further three years as part of its efforts to improve food allergy awareness and safety across the UK.
The renewed agreement builds on three years of collaboration between the foodservice giant and the charity, during which they have worked to strengthen allergen understanding across the sector, support the implementation of Natasha's Law and develop practical tools to help food operators protect consumers.
The partnership has included the development of colleague training resources and digital content designed to help cafés, caterers, schools and hospitality businesses navigate allergen regulations and improve food safety practices.
According to Natasha's Foundation, food allergy is one of the UK's fastest-growing health challenges, affecting 2.4 million adults and one in 13 children, while hospital admissions for severe allergic reactions have tripled over the past two decades.
The charity continues to fund research and campaign for improvements in allergy awareness and management. Its Natasha Clinical Trial, currently running across nine NHS hospitals, is providing oral immunotherapy treatment to 300 children and young people with milk and peanut allergies, while its recently launched Natasha's Prize will award £10 million towards research focused on food allergy prevention.
Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, founder of Natasha's Foundation, welcomed the renewed commitment.
"The unprecedented rise in allergic disease over the last 30 years means there has never been a more important time to understand what is fuelling the global allergy epidemic," she said.
"We are delighted that Sysco is continuing its partnership with us in our mission to create a future without food allergy."
Sysco's support will continue to fund the charity's work across research, education and policy, including Allergy School, a free programme reaching 21,000 schools, 240,000 teachers and six million children. The company will also support the Foundation's advocacy work aimed at improving allergy management across the NHS and securing the appointment of a national Allergy Tsar.
Paul Nieduszynski, chief executive of Sysco GB, said food allergy safety was a shared responsibility across the food industry.
"Natasha's Foundation has transformed national understanding of this issue — from the introduction of Natasha's Law to the groundbreaking clinical trial now underway in the NHS," he said.
"We are proud to continue supporting their mission and to play our part in helping customers, colleagues and communities build the confidence, knowledge and systems needed to protect people living with food allergies."
Sysco said it would continue integrating Natasha's Foundation expertise into its customer platforms, training programmes and communications to ensure allergen awareness remains a key part of the support it provides to the UK foodservice sector.