Food allergies and intolerances have shifted from a fringe topic to a daily challenge for millions of people. The Safe Food – Bridging the Gap for People with Food Restrictions – project seeks to practically narrow the gap between the needs of sensitive consumers and what the market offers. In Slovakia, it is implemented by a team with personal experience that has brought concrete solutions.
Why safe food matters today
The range of food allergens is wide: from milk and gluten to peanuts and various nuts. For sensitive people, complete avoidance of allergens is crucial, but their presence in a food is not always obvious. Allergies, celiac disease, and food intolerances can manifest from rapid immune responses to subtle long-term difficulties. The only effective prevention is removing risky ingredients from the diet.
According to data from the USA, roughly one in ten adults and one in thirteen children has a food allergy; together this amounts to about 32 million people. In Europe, the number of allergies is generally rising, and estimates say that by 2025 more than half of the population may suffer from some allergy; food allergies affect about 17 million Europeans. Of these, approximately 8 % risk acute anaphylaxis upon contact with an allergen, which means everyday decision-making with consequences for health and life. In Slovakia, the NCZI recorded in 2020 over 38 000 and in 2021 approximately 44 000 new cases in diagnoses that may be related to food allergies.
Safe Food project: from idea to practice
The inspiration arose from personal experiences in 2010–2013, the project was submitted in 2021, and its implementation ran from 2022 to April 2024. The project is led by BA Solar and the civic association No Gravity, with the Norwegian company Pure Food Norway as a partner, which has long been engaged in manufacturing for celiacs and allergy sufferers. Financing was provided by EEA grants, the state budget of the Slovak Republic, and the partners’ own resources; the budget set in 2021 was approximately 924 thousand euros. The goal is to bridge the gap between the needs of people with dietary restrictions and the availability of safe foods and services.
Life with restrictions: barriers and solutions
After a diagnosis is made, a person encounters many obstacles: they must read food ingredient lists down to the last detail and address the hidden presence of allergens or cross-contamination. For example, gluten can hide in sourdough starter and milk protein in margarines. Eating in restaurants, school cafeterias, hospitals, or via delivery is therefore risky, as is traveling by plane. The result is also the social exclusion of children at parties, on trips, and in after-school care, and increased costs for special foods and supplies.
The Safe Food team therefore built an allergen-free bakery, carefully selected suppliers, and adjusted recipes so that they did not contain the twelve monitored allergens. At the same time, it developed a mobile application and continuously informed the community about the current situation. It placed emphasis on eliminating contamination even during product transport. The project showed that the combination of practice, technology, and awareness-raising can significantly ease the everyday lives of people with dietary restrictions.
