FOOD & DRINK
FACE TO FACE Ursula meets: Ursula Arens Writer; Nutrition & Dietetics Ursula has spent most of her career in industry as a company nutritionist for a food retailer and a pharmaceutical company. She was also a nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation for seven years.
Ursula meets amazing people who influence nutrition policies and practices in the UK. MICHELLE BERRIEDALE-JOHNSON Director of Freefrom Food Awards Author & consultant on free-from foods Expert food historian
There was never a better time to be food allergic. EU regulations require clear information on the presence of any of 14 potential allergic ingredients on the labelling of all packaged foods and also for the provision of such information, when requested, for foods sold loose and also in restaurants and canteens. But, in addition to the improvement in the availability and accuracy of information, there has been a huge increase in the quality and variety of these ‘twin-foods’: those without a particular ingredient that may cause allergy in a few people. They are the new category of ‘free-from’ foods: a market that has been enjoying explosive growth of 15% yearly in the last decade. Perhaps not all of the increased interest in ‘free from foods’ (FFF) can be attributed to the activities of Michelle BerriedaleJohnson. But she is certainly the most prolific champion of this food sector and has done more than any other individual in the UK to bring together consumer and food industry interests to improve the quality and availability of FFF. She kindly invited me to her home, where we were a duet of seasonal coughs and sneezes, when even tea did not appeal. Her degree is in history, but it did not seem to offer any inspiring career options, so helping a friend with a busy catering company was the best way to pay urgent bills. Michelle enjoyed this, but it was hard work and there were many caterers competing for the outside venue business. She had the inspired idea to develop historic themed meals served in historic venues, and soon the most esteemed and
distinguished foodies demanded these food adventures. She said, “Of course these were not literal presentations of foods described in historic texts… rather they were ‘inspired-by’ meals. Most people would probably not enjoy more authentic historic menus.” Suddenly, Michelle was the expert on foods in previous times in both British and different cultures which allowed her to bring together her qualification in history and her many years of working in catering. She was funded to go on a speaking tour in the US and she wrote several books on historic meals. These included a trawl of Samuel Pepys with updated ‘recipes’ of food descriptions in his diaries, the British Museum cook book with recipes inspired by the various exhibits, and a book about possible foods consumed by Egyptian Pharaohs. Michelle was commissioned to write the ultimate book on the history of British food (aside from the original ultimate book by Sir Jack Drummond and Anne Wilbraham published in 1939). But fate shook some dice. One day in 1986, her husband had an acute allergic reaction. Medication cured the symptoms, but the trigger was a mystery. He was anxious not to experience this again, so tried cutting out various foods from his diet. At the same time, their young son had ‘itchy and scratchy’ skin that seemed relieved when dairy foods were eliminated. Although Michelle has no food allergies or intolerances, the Berriedale-Johnson relationship with their milkman ceased (amicably). www.NHDmag.com March 2017 - Issue 122
41
FOOD & DRINK The family drama led Michelle to a new interest in food allergy. There was a venture into the marketing of soya-based ice-cream and dairyfree chocolate, but effort and hassle exceeded praise and income, so this venture was dropped within three years. But her interest on the subject of food allergy was aflame and her writing fingers twitched. She decided to launch a newsletter for health professionals and food industry readers. Demand for the original Berrydales Special Diet News exceeded predictions and the print run for the later version, The Inside Story, was 36 thousand copies! All members of the British Dietetic Association received free copies with postings of Dietetics Today in the early-mid 90s, so it will be familiar to dietitians aged 45+. FOODSMATTER.COM
Michelle decided to focus her communications on the consumer and so launched a subscription newsletter: more than one thousand signed-up to pay £30 annually for food allergy/intolerance information updates. From 2007, this became the website www.foodsmatter.com, which today leads as an information forum on adverse food reactions. Michelle notes that, “about 65% of site visitors are now from the US. This was not planned, but may be just because of the larger population numbers. Also, there are more food allergy specialists in the US, so diagnosis is often faster.” In 2008, there was so much activity in the FFF sector that an obvious next-step was the development of industry awards. Tesco led the retailers, mainly through the ‘randomness’ factor of one of the buyers having a food allergic child, and turning this into a project. Michelle was the centre of huge excitement, to use Hollywoodstyle glamour, to drive an up-wind into small food companies, and the chef Anthony Worrall Thompson agreed to be the celebrity host for the event. In April last year, 300 enthusiasts gathered at the Royal College of Physicians to celebrate the ‘Freefrom Oscar’. There were winners announced for all of the 19 categories, so it was a long evening of celebration for many (alcohol may have been
consumed!). Companies pay £150 to enter each food product in one of 19 categories (or £90, if there are three of fewer staff). Michelle has about 80 judges to call on, who gather in small groups to assess and score the submitted samples. Of course, taste is-the-thing. But judges also evaluate ingredient lists, packaging and other quality issues. The ultimate winner in 2016 was Nutribix: a sorghum based gluten-free breakfast product. SO, WHAT WOULD MICHELLE SAY TO DIETITIANS?
There are disputes and tensions over the huge terrain of vague claims made on these subjects. Food allergy is easier to identify and treat, by elimination, than food intolerances. “But I wish dietitians would be more open to accepting the improved outcomes that many people get when they trial exclude certain food categories, mainly gluten or dairy, for short periods of time,” she said. “This should never be for more than three weeks, by which time there should be a clear better-ornot outcome. Of course, dietitians are the ones to witness the adverse effects of extreme and bizarre diet restrictions, but these are numerically very small, in balance to many people who benefit from the increased food choice awareness, and nearly always better diet quality, resulting from discussion about possible causes of adverse symptoms.” Michelle thinks that some of the unwellness symptoms people describe may just be the large amounts of dairy and/or wheat-based foods consumed by many people, rather than specific adverse effects of small amounts of these foods. “Are human adults really meant to be consuming lactation products from another mammal?” questions Michele. As I leave, Michelle gives me a copy of her justpublished booklet, FreeFrom all’Italiana, written with Italian cookery star, Anna Del Conte. Later in the day, judges and cooks will gather in her kitchen to sample first submissions for the 2017 award. “It will be chaos,” she says. My feeling is that this is how she likes things to be: very busy. If you would like to suggest a nutrition personality for Ursula to meet, please contact: info@ networkhealthgroup.co.uk
More information: www.michellesblog.co.uk & www.freefrommatters.com - information on all Michelle’s websites and awards www.foodsmatter.com - information website on food allergy and intolerance 42
www.NHDmag.com March 2017 - Issue 122