Cosmetic companies must stop requiring people with food allergies to learn Latin to protect their health and instead provide clear ingredient warnings in plain English, according to an MP who has experienced severe allergic reactions and is calling for significant changes in how allergy sufferers are treated.
Becky Gittins, the newly elected Labour MP for Clwyd East, has highlighted the struggle that people with food allergies face when trying to identify potentially harmful ingredients in skincare products, lip balms, and lotions. She pointed out that crucial allergens are often listed under their Latin names, forcing individuals like herself to memorise complex terminology to avoid severe reactions.
Gittins, who has been hospitalised due to nut allergies, described the situation as “absolutely bonkers.” She emphasised how exhausting it is for those affected, particularly the growing number of young people with allergies, to have to navigate ingredient lists filled with unfamiliar scientific names.
“When I use skin products, hair products, and toiletries, they don’t have to follow the same allergy labelling rules as food,” she explained. “So to avoid an allergic reaction to something like shampoo, moisturiser, or lipstick, everyone with a nut allergy has to know the Latin terms for the ingredients they need to avoid. Why is it that a chocolate bar has to state clearly if it contains nuts, but a lip balm—something I put on my mouth and could end up swallowing—doesn’t have to say ‘almond oil’ in plain English? Instead, I have to know that almond is listed as ‘Prunus’ something. It’s frustrating and unnecessary.”
Gittins, who has multiple allergies and even has to ask her husband what he has eaten before she can kiss him, first discovered her condition as a child when she was rushed to the hospital after eating a mini Snickers from a box of Celebrations following a school Christmas party. Since then, she has suffered several allergic reactions.
Latin nomenclature is used in ingredient lists to standardise product labelling across different countries and languages, ensuring consistency in global markets. However, Gittins argues that as food allergies become increasingly common, companies must adapt by making ingredient information more accessible and user-friendly.
She also criticised the widespread use of vague “may contain nuts” warnings, which make it difficult for allergy sufferers to assess actual risks. “Many companies include ‘may contain traces of nuts’ as a blanket legal safeguard, but there’s no scientific threshold that determines when they must declare that,” she said. “This makes it incredibly difficult for people like me to make informed decisions about their health. I’m left guessing whether a company is being overly cautious or not cautious enough. Instead of improving, allergy labelling has actually gotten worse in this regard.”
It comes amid evidence that the number of people diagnosed with food allergies in England has more than doubled in a decade. The recent research by Imperial College London, which analysed GP records for 7 million people, found that the number of new food allergy cases increased from 76 per 100,000 people in 2008 to 160 per 100,000 people in 2018. The highest prevalence was seen in children under the age of five.
