Criteria & Rules of Entry
To qualify for entry to the FreeFrom Food Awards, all entries must be free of at least one of the 14 major allergens.
The overall winner of the Best FreeFrom Food 2021 will be drawn from the winners of all the categories.
We will award gold, silver and bronze awards in each category.
Entry fees
- £185 + VAT per product (Big Brand); £105 + VAT per product if you have 3 or fewer employees (Small Brand)
- 10% discount on fully completed entry forms received before 31st October 2020
- 10% discount for Small Brands only who enter 6 or more products
- The awards entitles each entering brand to one free ticket to the awards presentation party on 27th April 2021
If you require any clarification or for more information: info@freefromfoodawards.co.uk
Rules of Entry
- All products must be available for sale across the UK (in retail outlets or by mail order) by 01/03/2021. A valid UK website from which products can be bought must be supplied.
- Samples submitted must be production products on sale to the public and not pre-production samples.
- Samples must be submitted in the packaging in which they are to be sold.
- The organisers take the product/freefrom labelling and any accompanying information at face value and assume that the supplier can justify all claims. If anything needs clarification the organisers reserve the right to ask for more information.
- PAL – we follow the Food Standards Agency guidance on precautionary allergen labelling. If there is a risk of a food product being affected by allergen cross-contamination, the label should include one of the following statements: ‘may contain X’ ~ ‘not suitable for someone with X allergy’. Precautionary allergen labelling should only be used after a thorough risk assessment. It should only be used if the risk of allergen cross-contamination is real and cannot be removed.
If the product does not carry any PAL – eg ‘may contain’ warnings – we assume that a full risk assessment has been carried out and that comprehensive allergen management protocols are in place so that even if one of the 14 major allergens is handled by the same factory there will be no risk to the allergic consumer.
Therefore, carrying a statement that the product is manufactured in a factory which also handles/uses x allergen will not bar that product from entering the Almost Totally FreeFrom category provided that it does not also carry a ‘may contain x allergen’ warning. - Companies may enter as many products in as many categories as they wish. Cost of entry is per product in each category entered. Each flavour or variation of the product is a separate entry. For example – if a small brand wants to enter 1 flavour of 1 product = £105 + VAT x 3 categories entered = total of £315 + VAT.
- Own label products may be entered either by retailers or manufacturers but only retailers/own-brand names will be credited with the entry for allocation of Awards tickets.
- We do not accept a ‘range’ of flavour variations as one product. Each flavour or variation of the product is a separate entry.
- Products previously entered into the FreeFrom Food Awards are eligible for re-entry.
- Payment for each entry must have been received through the awards’ payment portal or, if the entrant cannot for whatever reason use the shop, a purchase order or other arrangement for payment must have been received by the awards by the closing date for the awards. Any product for which the entry fee has not been received by the 1st January 2021 will forfeit its entry into the awards. We only need one company entry form per company.
- Entries will only be accepted when all sections of the entry forms have been completed in full.
- Entries cannot be withdrawn after the awards’ closure date and no refund of entry fees will be given for products that, for whatever reason, are not available for the judging or are not on the market by 01/03/2021.
- Entrants will be asked to submit tasting samples. Details of where, when and how much to send will be provided after entry to the awards has closed.
- All samples must be received by the deadline specified or the product will forfeit its entry into the Awards and its entry fee.
- The organisers will prepare products for tasting according to the printed instructions on the packs in which the products are sold.
- The organisers reserve the right to change the categories and organisational details without prior notice.
- The organisers reserve the right to accept or reject entries.
- The decision of the judging panel is final and the FreeFrom Food Awards will not enter into any correspondence about the judges’ decisions.
- It is a condition of entry that all entrants will be bound by these rules.
If you have any queries or would like to talk to us about the project please email Michelle or Cressida
