Why is this important?

  • Why is this important?

    There is no cure for food allergies. A food allergy is an abnormal response to a food, triggered by the body’s immune system (NIAID, 2010). Symptoms of a food induced allergic reaction may range from mild to severe and may become life-threatening. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently reported an 18 percent increase in food allergies among school-aged children from 1997 to 2007. Current estimates state that between 1 in 13 (Gupta, 2011)) and 1 in 25 children are now affected, with 40 percent reporting a history of severe reaction (CDC, 2012).

     

    Types of Allergies

    In the United States, the FDA requires food manufacturers to list the eight most common ingredients that trigger food allergies. The eight foods included in food allergy labeling account for an estimated 90 percent of allergic reactions. These eight foods are:

     

     Milk      Eggs      Peanuts      Tree Nut 

     Fish      Shellfish      Soy        Wheat