Foods Matter magazine launches first ever 'free-from' (gluten, wheat, dairy, egg, nut) food awards to celebrate the 300% growth in the free-from food market.

Free-from foods are foods which do not include one or more of the foods (wheat, gluten, dairy products, eggs, yeast, soya, sugar etc) associated with the many chronic health problems that plague 21st century 'developed' societies: allergies, eczema, asthma, IBS, ME and CFS, depression and mood swings and behavioural problems in children.

Provision for food allergy and intolerance is still depressingly limited within the medical profession ( only 1 allergist per 2 million of the UK population versus 1 cardiologist or gastroenterologist for every 100,000 of the population) - but food manufacturers see 'free-from' as a burgeoning market. According to market analyst, Mintel, the free-from market has grown by over 300% in the last 5 years.

As the only magazine covering this area, Foods Matter felt that it was time to celebrate this growth - hence the Foods Matter Free-from Food Awards.

The presentation of the awards, based on product tastings which have taken place over the last year, will take place on Wednesday 21st May 2008 (during Allergy Week) at Antony Worrall Thompson's Notting Grill in London.

The Foods Matter Free-from Food Awards are being sponsored by:

FAIR, the Foundation for Allergy Information and Research
NoMoo - dairy-free desserts
Lactofree - virtually lactose-free milk
Pure - dairy-free spreads

Partners in the awards include:

Action Against Allergy
Alert4Allergy
Allergy UK
AWT Enterprises
The Allergy and Gluten-Free Show
The Food and Drink Innovation Network

http://www.freefromfoodawards.co.uk