The Allergy and Free From Show, Liverpool

The Allergy and Free From Show took place again this year in Liverpool and London, with exhibitors from around the UK sharing their latest advances in products for people with allergies and intolerances. The show also included cooking demos and a few talks on related subjects such as asthma and coeliac disease. They market themselves on their website as follows,

The Allergy & Free From Shows are weekend events full of products (food, drink, skin / hair care, household items and more), cooking classes, talks, expert advice, kids activities – the list goes on – all ‘free from’ and all dedicated to helping you to improve your life.

All though this free to attend, 'Free-from', exhibition could be mistaken for a 'free-for-all', due to the amount of tasters available for visitors, it was still an interesting exhibition to attend. I am hoping in the future this exhibition will lessen the dominance of the big supermarkets with their endless goodies. Instead, it would be better to give opportunities for smaller companies to have an impact, without having to bleed their stocks dry! I went on a busy Saturday morning back in October and had limited time unfortunately. I just whizzed round the stalls on this occasion, so my review is largely product based...

The exhibition itself showcased some really innovative companies trying to promote awareness of allergies, and products which are naturally gluten free, and allergy friendly. Some of my favourites were the following companies (both big and small!) but remember these companies are not sponsors, and all my comments are my own opinions!

The Honest Carrot - a company who offers really tasty, homemade vegetarian food

Allergy Buddies - a fab company which offers 'custom made products to alert everyone of a child’s allergy or intolerance'.

Lavida Food, for their bean pasta range- which is super tasty!

Conscious chocolate - raw, organic handmade chocolate. You only need a small piece to enjoy this!

And was intrigued by Trimbake mainly because the product is made out of a blend of natural fruits, vegetables and legumes which provides a more natural approach to fat and sugar replacement in a recipe. 

I am also waiting to hear about a new baby shampoo product, currently being trialed by a relative on their child who has reacted badly to a range of mainstream shampoos to-date. The product is from an international brand, who offer a 'mild and tear-free' baby wash product which appears to backed up by a appropriate testing and research . So I will await her verdict!

In addition, some really worthwhile and effective organisations such as, Coeliac UK, IBS Network and the National Excema Society who were on hand to explain what their societies offer to the public and to health practitioners. Their websites offer a range of resources available to the public for free, and not just for paying members.

Overall, the varieties of starchy foods such as breads, pastas and snacks such as crackers, I can imagine is very appealing to those who are denied such products from the gluten filled aisles in a supermarket. However, there was an almost overwhelmingly large amount of biscuits, cakes and other unhealthy snacks on offer in the free-from sections of the exhibit. This worryingly, matches the misplaced trend in thinking everything gluten free is healthy. Apart from having their gluten removed, gluten-free foods like cakes and biscuits are not so very different from their regular counterparts. You may find that these alternative products are just as high in sugar, salt and trans fats…all of the ingredients we should be watching out for!

But I digress. 

As the event remains free to attend, and I enjoy finding out how some of the smaller companies are progressing, I will probably be there again next year...