Additive-free company
Pauline Stiles explains how she and her husband came to set up the Additive Free company, who supply Sainsbury’s with many of their gluten-, wheat- and dairy-free products.
We started making additive-free food in 1996 because of our daughter, Georgia. She was just five years old at the time and we had been struggling to understand her behavioural problems. A doctor at Great Ormond Street Hospital suggested we remove additives from her diet, and it became clear that much of the food aimed at children was full of additives and that Georgia craved these.
Georgia was eventually diagnosed as being autistic, but this diagnosis incorporated other conditions such as dyspraxia and Attention Deficit Disorder. Tests showed that she was also having problems with gluten and dairy. Many autistic children now follow a gluten- and dairy-free diet, which also excludes additives and flavour enhancers like MSG (mono-sodium glutamate) or artificial sweeteners. We decided we would try and do something useful with what Georgia was teaching us.
Children love nuggets, beef burgers and sausages, so we started making Georgia good quality versions with the ingredients you would find in a family kitchen. We developed products like gluten- and dairy-free pork chipolatas with hidden vegetables, then moved on to beef burgers and chicken steaks. We now make these under the Sainsbury's freefrom brand.
Our mantra has stood the test of time: ‘Our passion as parents is the health of our kids. We never compromise.’ We are delighted to be working so closely with Sainsbury’s – it’s a partnership that works.
‘We make Sainsbury’s freefrom ready meals – Lasagne, Chicken Tikka Masala, Shepherd’s Pie and Fish Pie. The meals are glutenfree like all our products, and have very clean-labels, with no artificial additives or colourings’
Try...
Sainsbury’s freefrom Fruit & Nut Muesli, followed by a warm freefrom English Muffin for a mouth-watering breakfast.
Or if you’re prone to mid-morning hunger pangs, there are plenty of freefrom snacks to tempt your tastebuds, like stem ginger cookies, fruit loaf, nutty bars, brownies and soya chocolate.
