A NURSERY chef who suffered a sudden and violent allergic reaction to honey as she ate a meal at a pub wants to raise awareness of less common food allergies.

Fran Hillman, from Moredon had never had any allergies as a child.

But in 2017 she was taken to hospital when she went into anaphylactic shock after eating a capsule with honey in it to soothe her cold symptoms when she visited a German Christmas Markets.

A year later she was hit again when she ate a pub meal that came with a Jack Daniels dipping sauce, not realising it contained honey because the menu wasn't clear.

She is using Food Allergy Awareness Week to make people aware of less well known allergens.

Fran, who now carries an Epipen in case of another attack, said: “It was very scary, especially the first time because I didn’t speak the language and my hands were shaking and I was wheezing.”

“I try to avoid beeswax because that’s in a lot of things but lots of people don’t realize it. It’s in Haribo eggs and I really enjoy them but I can’t have them anymore. I bought a selection of crackers with cheese and there were honey biscuits in the box.

“I work in a kitchen so I have to be extra careful with things, in my line of work you have to look.”

The chef believes believes restaurants and companies should be doing more to make people aware of potential allergens, especially for those foods not listed among the most common food allergens like milk, peanuts, shellfish, eggs and wheat.

Fran said: “Sometimes there is nothing on the packaging or it’s in small writing and not listed under allergens. I know it can be hard but they should highlight it more and they should say 'If it’s not on our list let us know'.”

“A lot of people have an allergy, but people often mix up allergy with intolerance which doesn’t help.”

“Something should be done without just listing the 14 allergens. So maybe put it at the bottom of menus. Or there could be a code for allergies or something.”

Free-from products can also be more expensive for people, particularly if there are allergens for more than one family member.

“These products should be on the same par pricing-wise. It can be expensive buying for a whole family.

"I know a mum who's breastfeeding and the baby's diet has to be dairy and soya free so she has to watch what she eats as well.”

“People need to check and double check food and chefs need to share recipes. People shouldn’t get complacent.”

Allergen guidance and information about the week is available online at foodallergyuk.org