Why We’re Urging the Scottish Government to Lead the Way on Food Allergies
Mags Lane, Senior Paediatric Research Nurses, Tanya Ednan-Laperouse, Professor Jurgen Schwarze, Chelsea Oliphant, Senior Paediatric Research Nurses, Nadim Ednan-Laperouse.
We lost our daughter, Natasha, when she was just 15 years old.
She died from a severe allergic reaction to sesame seeds that were hidden in a baguette and not listed on the packaging. Her death was entirely preventable and it’s a tragedy that no other family should ever have to endure.
Since Natasha’s passing, we’ve dedicated our lives to making sure her story leads to real change. We founded The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation in 2019 with a simple but powerful mission: to Make Allergy History.
This week, we’re in Scotland - home to hundreds of thousands of people living with food allergies - to highlight the work our charity is doing here and to issue an urgent call to action.
Scotland, this is your moment to lead.
Tanya and Nadim with Stuart & Heather Coyle, with Charlie Coyle (4yrs), and his sister Kate (7m). Charlie is in the peanut arm of the Natasha Clinical Trial, currently on his maintenance dose.
Food allergies are on the rise.
One in six people in Scotland either has a food allergy or lives with someone who does. But too often, these individuals are left to navigate the condition alone, without the care, support, or understanding they desperately need.
That’s why we’re calling on the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland to lead the world by appointing the first-ever Allergy Tsar - a dedicated leader to champion people with allergies and bring meaningful, coordinated change across healthcare, education, and the food industry.
No other country has done this. Scotland has the chance to set a global example.
Our work in Scotland
Founders of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation Nadim and Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBEs, visited Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People which is one of 9 NHS sites involved in the Natasha Clinical Trial.
The Natasha Clinical Trial
The £2.7 million Natasha Trial, funded by the charity, uses daily doses of everyday food products, taken under strict medical supervision, rather than expensive pharmaceuticals to train the bodies of children and young people with peanut and cow’s milk allergies to tolerate the allergen. Results of the trial will be published next year, and it is hoped the trial will provide the evidence for the treatment to be made available on the NHS across the UK.
There are seven participants on the Natasha Trial in Edinburgh – two with a cow’s milk allergy and five with a peanut allergy.
Professor Jurgen Schwarze, a consultant allergist who is leading the trial in Edinburgh at the Children's Clinical Research Facility, said:
“We are delighted to be one of two centres in Scotland contributing to the Natasha Trial. This is a landmark study that could pave the way for oral immunotherapy against food allergy to become available in the NHS across the United Kingdom.”
Charlie Coyle (4yrs) is in the peanut arm of the study, currently on his maintenance dose.
The people of Scotland deserve better when it comes to food allergies.
From safer schools and better GP care to stronger oversight of food businesses, there is so much more that can and must be done.
Appointing an Allergy Tsar would be a bold and necessary step. It would mean someone in Government finally taking responsibility, coordinating efforts, and ensuring allergy policy is prioritised, not overlooked.
During our time in Scotland, we’ll be speaking at the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) conference in Glasgow, visiting the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh to meet with NHS staff and participants in the Natasha Clinical Trial, and talking with school communities about our Allergy School resources.
But this is just the beginning. The real change comes when our leaders listen and act.
Through education, research, and tireless campaigning, we are determined to protect and support everyone affected by food allergies.
Now, we’re asking the Scottish Government to stand with us and take the lead.
