How THE UK Events Industry Is Standardizing Dietary Needs Management

Here's something that doesn't get said enough: the biggest food allergy risk at your event doesn't start in the kitchen. It starts the moment your registration form goes live. To kick off Food Allergy Awareness Week, I'm getting into exactly that — and I've got the right people at the table. The UK events industry just launched something the sector has needed for a long time: the ABPCO Managing Dietary Requirements at Events Toolkit. A shared language. Standardized processes. A way to get planners, venues, caterers, and delegates finally on the same page. I'm talking with the three people who made it happen — Anita Macdonald, who leads the ABPCO taskforce and translates dietary needs into kitchen reality at Cambridge's college venues. Sammy Connell, who manages 60+ conferences a year at NASUWT and lives the in-house organizer reality every single day. And Matt Stalker, Executive Director of ABPCO, who decided the industry didn't need another webinar — it needed infrastructure. We're going to talk about where dietary communication actually breaks down, what it costs when it does, and what it looks like when you get it right. Safety. Inclusion. Delegate confidence. Operational reality. This one is for every planner who's ever stared at a dietary request wondering what the actual risk level is. For every venue that's received a brief that left more questions than answers. For every delegate who's shown up to an event not knowing if they'd be able to eat. Come join us LIVE. Bring your questions, your frustrations, and your stories. This conversation belongs to all of us.