FreeFrom Food Award Winners 2013
The winners of this year's free-from Food Awards 2013 were announced this week (Tuesday 16th April) by chef, Antony Worrall Thompson at an Awards evening in London.
Overall winner of the FAIR Trophy for Best free-from Food 2013 was a luxury lemon coconut 'ice cream' from Bessant and Drury, with judges commenting on how great it is "to have a product which excludes all of the major allergens yet both looks and tastes like a fully fledged, upmarket, luxury food".
Other winning products included a fresh chickpea pasta from Dell'Ugo, gluten-free panini from Freedom Deli, a gluten and dairy-free hot chocolate fudge pudding from Glamourpuds and a nut-free 'peanut butter' from Eskal.
For the first time this year there was also a children's category, in recognition of the number of free-from products now being manufactured for food-sensitive children.
Over 340 different dishes, drinks, snacks, cereals, breads and biscuits were tasted and tested by a team of 50 expert judges who included food writers, chefs, dietitians, nutritionists, coeliacs, allergy sufferers - and children, judging their own children's food category!
The free-from Food Awards are the industry's only awards for free-from food and their continuing success is evidence both of the increasing number of people who have a food problem and of the sector's rapid growth. There has been a phenomenal number of new products entering the market in the last few years. Even better, this year many of the products that were free of multiple allergens (such as the winning lemon 'ice cream') tasted and looked not only as good, but better than many conventional products.
Michelle Berriedale-Johnson, director of the awards and editor of FoodsMatter
It is estimated that globally between 220 and 250 million people suffer from food allergies (World Allergy Organisation) and this figure is continuing to rise.
The free-from Food Awards have been instrumental in driving new product development and improving the quality and choice of free-from foods that are available.
For more information on the awards visit www.free-fromfoodawards.co.uk. where you can find a list of individual category winners, highly commended and commended products.
For information on free-from food visit www.free-fromfoodsmatter.com and for information on food allergy and intolerance visit: www.foodsmatter.com.