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What's new
This month at Ashford HQ, we're talking about allergens.
We also have a bright new look!
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Call us on 01962 624268
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When awareness is a matter of life and death
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The topic of food allergens is one that can cause different reactions (excuse the pun), depending on whether you work in the food industry, you’re a customer with an allergy, or you’re in the queue behind the ‘fussy’ person who insists on knowing every ingredient in the jam doughnut.
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It’s a subject that’s close to our hearts here at Ashford: two-thirds of our people have food allergies and intolerances, and we’ve all been present when things have gone wrong in a restaurant or other food outlet.
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According to the Food Standards Agency, in the UK:
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- Ten people every year die from food-induced anaphylaxis. There are also about 1,500 asthma deaths, some of which might be triggered by food allergy.
- There are 4,500 hospital admissions a year as a result of food allergy.
- 2 million people are living with a diagnosed food allergy, and 600,000 (one in 100) with coeliac disease.
- 8% of children and 2% of adults are affected by food allergies or intolerances.
Over the years, we’ve developed Allergen Awareness courses for several food business clients, as well as our own elearning modules. We’re currently revising our training as well as our clients’, to take account of new information and legislation.
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Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced new legislation known as ‘Natasha’s Law’ last week (25 June). It’s named after Natasha Ednan-Laperouse from Fulham in London, who died after suffering an allergic reaction when she unknowingly ate sesame in an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette.
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The new legislation will require food businesses to include a full list of ingredients on food that’s prepared on the premises where it is sold. The law will come into force by summer 2021, which gives businesses two years to adapt.
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It is vital that everyone who works with food is aware not just of the law, but of the dangers linked to food allergies, including the causes and potential consequences of cross-contamination.
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In a separate tragic incident, 13-year-old Karanbir Singh Cheema from west London died after another boy threw a piece of cheese at him. The boy who threw the cheese had no idea that Karanbir had a dairy allergy, or that cheese could cause a serious reaction.
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The inquest into Karanbir’s death was held in May this year. The coroner said: ‘There was a missed opportunity by Karanbir’s school to raise awareness among their pupils of the grave nature of his allergies and the care that needed to be taken to avoid his contact with allergens.’
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Our updated, ready-to-use Food Allergens elearning module will be available soon. Call us on 01962 624268 to find out more.
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01962 624268
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Want free elearning?
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Contact us now to talk about how you can get Ashford's Data Protection (GDPR) module, free.
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Reply to this email or give us a call.
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What's happening
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Here's what's on the agenda for July
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If you're one of our regular online visitors, you will have spotted a few changes recently. We've launched our bright new website at ashfordgs.com.
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Please drop by to learn about what we do – 'no job too big or too small' – and browse through the Ashford Gallery. Coming to the site soon:
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- Catalogue of ready-to-use elearning modules
- The Ashford Blog
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Let us know what you think. We genuinely welcome your feedback and input!
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As well as our new website, these past few weeks we've been working with clients on our usual variety of projects, including:
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- Data Protection (GDPR) elearning
- Allergens Awareness elearning
- Policies and Procedures elearning
- Selling Skills workbook
- Induction (onboarding) training
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July: Sarcoma Awareness Month
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July: Talk to Us 2019 awareness campaign (Samaritans)
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July 1-7: National Childhood Obesity Week
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July 6: International Day of Cooperatives
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July 7-14: National Transplant Week
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July 9: The Cyber Security Summit
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July 11: World Population Day
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July 15: World Youth Skills Day
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July 16-31: Festival of British Archaeology
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July 18: Nelson Mandela International Day
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Tips and tricks: setting deadlines (and the tale of the soggy moggy)
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When setting a deadline, there’s more to consider than the amount of time it will take to complete the task or project.
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Say, for example, we estimate it will take 5 days (37.5 hours) of work to develop the first draft of your elearning module, and we can start on Monday.
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We won’t spend every minute of every day working on your project – the developer needs to break off every so often to take a screen break; the phone will ring; the postie will deliver a parcel; the neighbours’ cat will fall in the pond and need to be rescued... (true story)
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Plus, we need to build in a ‘cushion’ in case of unforeseen circumstances. No project is ever as straightforward as it first seems. For instance, the source material might be incomprehensible, having been written originally in Chinese and translated using Google (also true).
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So, although there’s 5 days (37.5 hours) of work to do, even if we start early on Monday morning it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to deliver by close of play on Friday.
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That’s why, when we set a deadline it might seem longer than our time estimate for completing the job.
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It’s also why we charge by the actual time taken – we won't charge you for the time we spend fishing next door’s soggy moggy out of the pond!
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Full of bright ideas
When it comes to creative learning solutions, we've got it covered.
Call us now on 01962 624268
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Want to know more?
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Call 01962 624268, check out our website, drop us an email or visit one of our social media platforms below. We'd love to hear what you think about our work!
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Crafted for you by Chris, Jill and Paul - the Ashford News Crew!
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