{"id":1953,"date":"2026-02-05T13:26:43","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/?p=1953"},"modified":"2026-02-05T13:27:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T13:27:46","slug":"what-is-benedicts-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Benedict's Law?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On February 3rd 2026, an important milestone was reached in the campaign to instate Benedict's Law, otherwise known as the School Allergy Safety Bill, in UK legislation. We examine the history of the campaign, its aims and achievements to date<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the history of Benedict's Law?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Benedict Blythe Foundation was created following the tragic death of Benedict, who consumed milk, which he was known to be allergic to, at school. Weaknesses within the school's allergy policy are replicated throughout many UK schools, and the foundation has worked relentlessly to improve allergy safety in schools through research, legislative reform, advice and guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the aim of Benedict's Law?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The overarching aim of Benedict's Law is to improve safety of school children who have allergies. The percentage of children diagnosed with allergies continues to rise, with approximately 2-5% of UK schoolchildren now believed to have a known food allergy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The campaign to improve allergy policy within schools preceded Benedict's sad death, but the principles that are being called for remain the same. Campaigners are fighting for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. spare adrenaline auto-injectors and devices\u00a0available within all settings\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. comprehensive allergy and anaphylaxis training given to all school staff, and\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. clear and comprehensive school allergy policies supported by individual care plans for pupils with allergies<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    What has the campaign achieved so far?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Petition for Change:<\/strong> The BBF's petition, demanding stronger protections for pupils with allergies, gained over 13,000 signatures in two weeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Open Letter to Secretary of State:<\/strong>\u00a0This was supported by over 40 organisations including medical institutions, charities, unions and industry representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Prime Minister\u2019s Questions:<\/strong>\u00a0Benedict's story and the call for legislative change was featured in PMQs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Westminster Hall Debate:<\/strong>\u00a0The campaign was debated in Parliament, with cross-party support,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The School (Allergy Safety) Bill<\/strong>: The formal proposal for legislative change was introduced into Parliament on 9 July 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Schools Allergy Code:<\/strong> Driven by the lack of clear, consistent guidance, the campaign created resources including The Schools Allergy Code<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Amendment to Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: <\/strong>The introduction of the School (Allergy Safety) Bill was passed on 3rd February 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What's next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    The amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and School Bill will be formally passed back into the House of Commons for comment before it passes into legislation, but commitment has been made that statutory guidance will be consulted on and introduced within 2026. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    We will continue to update this post with latest news, and update our Allergy Awareness training<\/a> as necessary to support schools and colleges to keep children safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    https:\/\/www.allergyuk.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Model-Policy-for-allergy-at-school-v2.1-090124.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    On February 3rd 2026, an important milestone was reached in the campaign to instate Benedict's […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1098,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,214,208],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-safety","category-news","category-sectors"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhat is Benedict's Law? - The Safer Food Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Follow the latest news and information about the campaign to introduce Benedict's Law and make schools safe for children with allergies\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is Benedict's Law? - The Safer Food Group\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Follow the latest news and information about the campaign to introduce Benedict's Law and make schools safe for children with allergies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Knowledge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheSaferFoodGroup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-05T13:26:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-05T13:27:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"801\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"528\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Clare\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SaferFoodGroup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SaferFoodGroup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Clare\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Clare\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/person\/fa3d522618a00594dfc065222c9ae5d9\"},\"headline\":\"What is Benedict's Law?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-05T13:26:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-05T13:27:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/\"},\"wordCount\":426,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Food Safety\",\"News\",\"Sectors\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/\",\"name\":\"What is Benedict's Law? - The Safer Food Group\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-05T13:26:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-05T13:27:46+00:00\",\"description\":\"Follow the latest news and information about the campaign to introduce Benedict's Law and make schools safe for children with allergies\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg\",\"width\":801,\"height\":528,\"caption\":\"A collection of common food allergens including peanuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, soybeans, and nuts displayed on a wooden table, relevant to Owen's Law, a proposed regulation to improve allergen labelling in restaurants.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is Benedict's Law?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/\",\"name\":\"Knowledge\",\"description\":\"From The Safer Food Group\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Knowledge\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SFG-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SFG-logo.svg\",\"width\":101,\"height\":37,\"caption\":\"Knowledge\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheSaferFoodGroup\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/SaferFoodGroup\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/2556420\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thesaferfoodgroup\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCpwpLKCoN01DZo7FQ6O7aKg\/featured\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/person\/fa3d522618a00594dfc065222c9ae5d9\",\"name\":\"Clare\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ac1bed66b7f811344c81216b32b5d1f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ac1bed66b7f811344c81216b32b5d1f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Clare\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Benedict's Law? - The Safer Food Group","description":"Follow the latest news and information about the campaign to introduce Benedict's Law and make schools safe for children with allergies","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is Benedict's Law? - The Safer Food Group","og_description":"Follow the latest news and information about the campaign to introduce Benedict's Law and make schools safe for children with allergies","og_url":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/","og_site_name":"Knowledge","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheSaferFoodGroup","article_published_time":"2026-02-05T13:26:43+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-05T13:27:46+00:00","og_image":[{"width":801,"height":528,"url":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Clare","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SaferFoodGroup","twitter_site":"@SaferFoodGroup","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Clare","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/"},"author":{"name":"Clare","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/person\/fa3d522618a00594dfc065222c9ae5d9"},"headline":"What is Benedict's Law?","datePublished":"2026-02-05T13:26:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-05T13:27:46+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/"},"wordCount":426,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg","articleSection":["Food Safety","News","Sectors"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/","name":"What is Benedict's Law? - The Safer Food Group","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-05T13:26:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-05T13:27:46+00:00","description":"Follow the latest news and information about the campaign to introduce Benedict's Law and make schools safe for children with allergies","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/halloween-allergy-safe-1.jpg","width":801,"height":528,"caption":"A collection of common food allergens including peanuts, milk, eggs, shellfish, soybeans, and nuts displayed on a wooden table, relevant to Owen's Law, a proposed regulation to improve allergen labelling in restaurants."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/what-is-benedicts-law\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is Benedict's Law?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/","name":"Knowledge","description":"From The Safer Food Group","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#organization","name":"Knowledge","url":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SFG-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/SFG-logo.svg","width":101,"height":37,"caption":"Knowledge"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheSaferFoodGroup","https:\/\/x.com\/SaferFoodGroup","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/2556420","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/thesaferfoodgroup\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCpwpLKCoN01DZo7FQ6O7aKg\/featured"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/person\/fa3d522618a00594dfc065222c9ae5d9","name":"Clare","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ac1bed66b7f811344c81216b32b5d1f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9ac1bed66b7f811344c81216b32b5d1f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Clare"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1953"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1956,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953\/revisions\/1956"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesaferfoodgroup.com\/knowledge\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}