Issue 135 free from bites

FREE FROM BITES

Alex Gazzola Freelance Journalist Alex is a writer specialising in food intolerance, coeliac disease, IBS, restricted diets and ‘freefrom’ food. He is the author of five books and regularly blogs at his site: www. allergy-insight.com

FREE FROM FOOD AWARDS April saw the announcement of the winners of the Free From Food Awards - an annual celebration of the finest in gluten free, dairy free and allergen free.

Launched in 2008 by doyenne of ‘free from’ and editor of FoodsMatter.com, Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, the awards serve as an invaluable guide to those with dietary restrictions and a great way to signpost tried and tested products, including from small producers who may otherwise evade the radar of even the most eagle-eyed free-from gourmands.

Products are judged on a number of criteria such as usefulness, innovation, versatility, nutritional profile, and judging panels are drawn from all sectors. These include food developers, healthcare professionals including dietitians, cookery writers and those with food hypersensitivities - with both Dr Megan Rossi of King’s College and Julia Marriott of the Alimentary Bites blog serving this year.

Overall champion in 2018, was Orgran’s Vegan Easy Egg, a savoury egg replacer with corn, chickpea, vegetable gums, starches, turmeric and seasoning, which was praised by judges for its adaptability to various uses, including omelettes, quiches and scrambled ‘eggs’. A bonus: it is free from all 14 EUspecified food allergens.

Other gold-medal winners included Sweetcorn & Quinoa Bites by Gosh! (No Top 14 category), Amila’s Sauces’ Fruity Mild Curry Sauce (FODMAP Friendly) and Wildcraft Bakery’s Buckwheat Sourdough Loaf and Asda’s Free From 4 Seeded Brown Rolls (joint winners, Bread).

2019 entry opens in September. For more information, and full results and stockists of 2018 winners, go to www.freefromfoodawards.co.uk

BEST OF ITALIAN Perhaps surprisingly, the land of pasta and pizza has a highly developed gluten-free food sector, and while its vegan produce lags a little behind, it’s fast catching up. Capitalising on all this growth is Free From Italy, UK importers of the finest Italy has to offer.

Among its portfolio of brands are Le Conserve Della Nonna (a brand of vegan sauces whose rice-based Béchamel took a Silver in the Free From Food Awards’ No Top 14 category) and Probios (whose vegan MayoRice mayonnaise 38

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alternative took Bronze in Store Cupboard). Three of their Taste Italia wraps are 14 allergens-free too.

Their newest import, launching later this spring, is Castagno Bruno’s organic ‘Rice Style’ legume pasta/rice alternative, with varieties made with chickpea, green pea and red lentil, which can be used as a replacement in rice dishes or pasta-based soups, for example.

At the time of writing, the precautionary allergen labelling was being reviewed, but boxes will retail at £3.49 for 250g. Check www.freefromitaly. co.uk for updates.

LOCO FOR COCO Cocofina is an upcoming brand of coconut-based products launching welcome innovations onto the market. These include a fish-free ‘Nish Sauce’, an alternative for vegans and fish allergy sufferers, made with coconut sap and seaweed (£5.99, 250ml).

Most exciting is the new Make Your Own Coconut Yogurt Alternative (75g, £3.99) a milk-free powder made with coconut yoghurt, maltodextrin, pectin and acacia fibre.

Simply add hot water and sweetener if desired, and leave to chill overnight. Probiotics can be added before refrigeration when cooled. The pack makes 350g yoghurt and is a superb portable option, especially for dairy-free kids when travelling.

To learn more about the brand, and its products, which also include coconutbased vinegars and coconut snack bars, see www.cocofina.com FREE FROM BITES Orgran, Free From Italy and Cocofina were among hundreds of exhibitors showcasing goods at the Natural & Organic Products Europe (NOPE) (www.naturalproducts.co.uk) trade event held in London in April, and which happens to be open to dietitians and nutritionists, as well as food buyers, developers and industry experts. Although the focus is not specifically on ‘free from’, it invariably offers good insight into new developments for those on restricted diets and this year, the unprecedented growth in veganism was amply reflected in the numerous exhibitors dedicated to this increasingly popular ethical lifestyle.

Among them were The Heart of Nature, a Polish company who produces high-fibre grainand seed-rich breads. Their new gluten-free breads are exceptional. The Original Pure Grain Bread contains gluten-free oat flakes, various seeds (linseeds, millet, pumpkin, sunflower), plus seasonings and water - and nothing else. Several flavour varieties - with cranberries, prunes, chia and quinoa - complete the set, which are available from Ocado and Planet Organic. See www. puregrainbread.com.

Windmill Organics manage a number of niche organic and free-from brands, including Amisa Organic. Although non-gluten containing flours are widely available on the market, flours which are safe for coeliacs (i.e. free from cross contamination and certified gluten free) aren’t always as easy to come by. To their already established quinoa flour, buckwheat flour and brown rice flour, Amisa are adding chickpea flour (£3.29, 400g) and red lentil flour (£3.69, 400g) in May, both high fibre and high protein, and the latter of which bears a precautionary warning for soya. Windmill are

also introducing a new vegan brand, Bonsan, to their portfolio. Among the products promised are ‘almond crème spreads’ and vegan grill sausages with tofu. Updates at www.windmillorganics.com.

Another NOPE exhibitor was Belly Goodness, the newest low-FODMAP brand to hit this growing market. Like FODMAPPED and Bay’s Kitchen, both featured in March’s NHD, Belly Goodness make sauces, but with several twists.

Those with tomato allergy who fondly remember the Nomato range from around a decade ago, will be pleased to hear of Belly Goodness’s tomatofree Mediterranean Sauce and Nomato Sauce, which use red pepper, sweet potato, beetroot and carrot. There’s also a coconut-based White Sauce.

Fun attractive packaging. Available online from this month. www.bellygoodness.com.

Organic free-from pastas which are bronze-cut (and, therefore, have a rough texture which sauce clings to) are hard to come by, but Seggiano are about to launch a five-strong range which include buckwheat and corn fettuccine and rice and teff tagliolini. All are made free of the 14 allergens, so are likely to be a good gourmet option to both coeliacs and those with multiple allergies. RRP £4.60/£4.90, 250g. See www.seggiano.com.

Koko, who produce coconut-based ‘milks’ and ‘yoghurt’, as well as coconut oil and spread, will be adding two ‘cheeses’ to their range in June. There’s an alternative to soft cream cheese (£1.99, 150g), plus a hard dairy-free alternative to Cheddar (£2.29, 200g), the latter of which contains 736mg calcium per 100g, almost identical to that of Cheddar itself.

Both are free of the 14 allergens and will launch in Waitrose initially, with other outlets following throughout the year. See www.kokodairyfree.com.

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