Gluten free flatbreads brand BFree is supporting the Coeliac Awareness Month campaign this month by donating 20p per pack for every limited-edition purple pack of pitta sold to independent charity Coeliac UK.
Coeliac Awareness Month aims to highlight the symptoms and risk factors of coeliac disease, and the importance of getting tested. Over the course of Coeliac Awareness Month, BFree aims to raise £26,000 for Coeliac UK and promote the campaign through on-pack messaging and initiatives.
BFree’s limited edition ‘A Little Pitta Love’ packs feature information about Coeliac UK and a QR code to learn more about coeliac disease, whilst 20p from every pack sold will be donated to Coeliac UK to fund its vital work for the coeliac community.
As a part of its support for the campaign, on 15 May, BFree will be hosting an online Q&A with Sunday Times best-selling author and gluten-free cook, Becky Excell, and Dr Hazel Wallace, registered associate nutritionist and the founder of The Food Medic.
Excell and Dr Wallace will discuss tips for eating out and cooking for those with coeliac disease, lookouts on ingredients lists, lunch inspiration and common misconceptions around the condition. BFree is also raising awareness through social media campaigns and advertising.
“We are passionate about supporting the coeliac community and so it was a natural step for us to get involved in Coeliac Awareness Month. At BFree, we’re all about what can be added to life, not what’s taken away, and we know what a big difference diagnosis can make for those unknowingly living with coeliac disease,” Alex Murphy, BFree chief executive, said.
Hilary Croft, chief executive of Coeliac UK, commented: “Thank you to BFree for championing our cause and helping us to raise awareness of coeliac disease. This is a major milestone and it is a positive sign to see a key player in gluten free foods support our campaign in so many ways. When someone finally gets an answer to the cause of their unexplained symptoms, the positive changes can be momentous – for both their physical health and mental wellbeing. It is so important that we raise awareness of coeliac disease so we can improve diagnosis and get those with undiagnosed coeliac disease on the road to recovery.”
There’s an estimated 500,000 people in the UK who are living with undiagnosed coeliac disease - a serious autoimmune condition affecting 1 in 100 people, yet only 36 per cent of those affected are medically diagnosed. When people with the condition eat gluten - a protein found in wheat, barley and rye - their body attacks its own tissues. If left untreated, it can cause gut damage and serious health complications.
