Food allergy

The most common foods that cause allergic reactions, whether eaten separately or as an ingredient, even in trace amounts (also known as hidden foods), are milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanut, wheat, and soybean². Avoidance alone is recommended as the key management approach for peanut allergy, yet it doesn't protect against accidental exposure despite avoidance³. 

Food allergy symptoms are most common in babies and children but can appear at any age. People can develop an allergy to foods they have eaten for years without a prior allergic reaction³. Food allergy reactions include a variety of clinical conditions affecting the gastrointestinal tract, skin and lungs, as well as sometimes fatal anaphylaxis⁴.

It is believed that lifestyle factors, dietary habits and maternal–neonatal interactions play a pivotal role in triggering the onset of food allergies, including qualitative and quantitative composition of the microbiota. These factors seem to have the greatest influence early in life⁴.

The economic burden of food allergies worldwide varies across countries with mean annual costs estimated at $806 (household level) to $2,081 (individual level) for the medical system and up to $4,881 for household costs⁵.

Symptoms

The most common food allergy signs and symptoms include⁶:

• Vomiting and/or stomach cramps
• Hives.
• Shortness of breath.
• Wheezing.
• Repetitive cough.
• Shock or circulatory collapse.
• Tight, hoarse throat; trouble swallowing.
• Swelling of the tongue, affecting the ability to talk or breathe.
• Weak pulse.
• Pale or blue coloring of skin.
• Dizziness or feeling faint.

Anaphylaxis is a potentially life-threatening reaction that can impair breathing and send the body into shock.