TWELVE year-old Lesmurdie boy Diamond Gyoergy’s first day back at school for term three was more interesting than he would have liked.

Diamond suffered a life-threatening anaphylactic shock after eating a Sunsol dark chocolate and almond muesli bar at lunch, which he and his parents didn’t realise had traces of peanuts in.

After this experience, Diamond started speaking up about the need for a better system for pre-packaged snacks relating to the allergens they contain.

Good Food Partners, Sunsol’s manufacturers, wished Diamond a speedy recovery but assured Echo News all their products complied with labelling requirements set by the Australian New Zealand food standards code.

“Present allergens are listed in the ingredients list in bolded text and a bolded separate allergen statement starting with the word ‘contains’ is provided directly below the ingredient list to help identify allergens present,” a spokesperson said.

Diamond said while the muesli bar he ate did comply with requirements for allergens to be included on the back of the package in the ‘contains’ section, there should be a better, more simple method to detect allergens in food products.

“I normally have to look at the back of packets to ensure things are safe, because even trace amounts of peanuts can trigger a severe allergic reaction for me,” he said.

“I think although it is stated, it should be clearer.

“It’s very easy to miss small ‘contains’ labels on the back of packets.

“The text can be tiny, and if the product’s primary labelling doesn’t clearly indicate the presence of allergens, it becomes a problem.”
Accidentally consuming allergens can be life-threatening to those with severe allergies. According to a 2022 current treatment options in allergy report, around 5 per cent of older children, aged between 10 and 14 years old, have a food allergy.

Peanuts and tree nuts were noted as the two most common allergy triggers.

Diamond said common allergies like peanuts should be stated on the front of packaging, boldly and easily noticeable.

“The ‘contains’ section is helpful, but it’s often buried in the fine print.

“There should be a more prominent and user-friendly way for people with allergies to identify potential allergens quickly and easily.”

New food labelling laws were introduced for Australia and New Zealand in February this year, stating that common allergens must be included in ingredient lists separately, in plain English names, and in bold text.

A separate, bolded allergy list is also required to be printed next to the ingredients list.

However, Diamond thought people with severe allergies and their parents and carers needed a more effective solution.

Several solutions Diamond had thought of were to include colour-coded labels for common allergens, putting allergens on the front of packaging, and using an app or digital tool that could be used to show people what allergens are in a product.

Diamond was injected with an epipen and taken to Perth children’s hospital in an ambulance.

He said he doesn’t want anyone else to go through an accidental anaphylactic shock like he did.