Let’s talk food allergies, what are they?

A food allergy reaction happens when an immune response occurs, and your body reacts as if the food item is an invader or a harmful substance. An allergic reaction can be mild or severe and symptoms can occur within minutes or up to hours. Examples of symptoms can be hives, rash, flushed skin, coughing, difficulty breathing, swelling of face, tongue, or lips, etc. The onset of food allergies can occur at any age. The only current treatment for food allergies is to avoid the known food allergen. 

According to the Food and Drug Administration, (“What You Need to Know about Food Allergies”), “while more than 160 foods can cause allergic reactions in people with food allergies, the law identifies the eight most common allergenic foods. These foods account for 90 percent of food allergic reactions, and are the food sources from which many other ingredients are derived. 

The eight foods identified by the law are: 

1.      Milk 

2.     Eggs

3.     Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod)

4.     Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp)

5.     Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans)

6.     Peanuts

7.     Wheat

8.     Soybeans

These eight foods, and any ingredient that contains protein derived from one or more of them, are designated as ‘major food allergens’ by FLCPA.” 

FLCPA stands for Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. This law requires food manufactures to label their ingredients and inform the consumer of any of these top allergens. The manufacture can write the allergen containing ingredient in parentheses or can write it after the word contains at the bottom. This law has been very beneficial for individuals who have food allergies especially the younger aged and newly diagnosed. 

According to the Food Allergy Research and Education (“What Is a Food Allergy?”), “thirty-two million Americans have food allergies, specifically one in ten adults and one in thirteen children.”

References: 

Klemm, RDN, CD, LDN, Sarah. “Food Allergies and Intolerances.” Eatright, 2020, www.eatright.org/health/allergies-and-intolerances/food-allergies/food-allergies-and-intolerances.

“What Is a Food Allergy?” Food Allergy Research & Education, 2020, www.foodallergy.org/resources/what-food-allergy.

“What You Need to Know about Food Allergies.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 26 Sept. 2018, www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/what-you-need-know-about-food-allergies.