Iceland milk

The move is expected to coincide with the Schools against Sepsis campaign

Iceland is to print warnings of the signs of sepsis on the side of its own-label milk cartons in an awareness-raising drive.

The move was announced by the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation as it awarded a five-figure grant to the UK Sepsis Trust to help shine a spotlight on the potentially life-threatening illness, which affects more than 250,000 people in the UK each year.

It is not clear when the ‘how to spot sepsis’ information will roll out on pack, but The Grocer understands it is expected to coincide with the Schools against Sepsis campaign, which launches in the north west of England in March with the IFCF as its official partner.

As part of the partnership, IFCF will help facilitate the delivery of lesson plans to Key Stage 2 students and help create take-home sepsis information cards, as well as e-packs for teachers.

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The UK Sepsis Trust will also help educate Iceland’s 24,000 employees.

“As a trustee of IFCF I feel strongly that we will be able to make a real difference via our partnership with The UK Sepsis Trust,” said Tarsem Dhaliwal, CEO of Iceland Foods.

“By funding their north west awareness campaign, and also by educating our own colleagues about symptoms to look out for, we believe that together we can save lives.”

Dr Ron Daniels, CEO of the UK Sepsis Trust said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with the IFCF, who will be instrumental in the launch of our Schools Against Sepsis campaign in the north west. Their vital support will enable us to educate children in schools and give them the tools to safeguard themselves and even their siblings and parents.

“Working with IFCF will help us raise even more awareness, on an unprecedented scale, and bring us closer to achieving our goal of ending preventable deaths by sepsis and saving 14,000 lives every year.”