It’s good to see some fresh impetus in the gluten-free sector, with the launch of a new bread brand: Oaf. While sourdough sales have soared – with Jason’s capitalising further on the trend via continued development of its brilliant plant-bread variant – gluten-free has been starved of innovation, with pioneering brands like Genius struggling to deliver on their early promise.
But the development of gluten-free options is crucial because food allergies are increasing: UK hospital admissions from food-induced anaphylaxis have more than doubled in the past 20 years [NHS]. And whereas lactose-free options are now plentiful in supermarkets, gluten-free aisles are underwhelming.
As much as innovation is important for the growing food allergy issue, however, food safety is even more vital. So it’s worrisome to see social media increasingly putting lives at risk. The latest example is on TikTok Shop, where food sellers have been caught failing to provide legally required allergen information. One expert dubbed the booming e-commerce channel “the wild west of food labelling”.
Social media has long been a source of false information. We’ve seen dangerous crazes promoted on the platforms – NyQuil infused ‘sleepytime chicken’ or swallowing laundry pods –not to mention legions of so-called health influencers promoting extreme diets. Only this week TikTok succumbed to pressure to block search results for unhealthy weight loss ‘#skinnytok’ content. But social media is increasingly unaccountable, with owners washing their hands of any responsibility for the accuracy of information on their channels in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as US president.
And it’s one thing dealing with the fallout from ‘fake’ news, quite another when someone dies as a result. When social media platforms are helping shift food for public consumption, for their own benefit, they can’t be let off the hook so easily.
If a supermarket sold unlabelled food containing allergens it would be a national scandal. TikTok claims it has “policies and processes” and “strict measures” to ensure the safety of food sold there. But it’s evidently not enough.
TikTok need to start acting like the food retailer it now is, with all the responsibility that entails. And to be treated that way by regulators and the law. If social commerce is the future, it needs to get serious about food safety – and stop expecting consumers to play Russian roulette with their purchases.
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