Food allergy - 2012 International Consensus

Food allergies can result in life-threatening reactions and diminish quality of life. In the last several decades, the prevalence of food allergies has increased.

More than 170 foods have been identified as being potentially allergenic but a minority of these foods cause the majority of reactions (8 food allergens cause 90% of reactions). Please have in mind that the common food allergens vary between geographic regions.

8 foods cause 90% of food allergies (click to enlarge the image). The likelihood of a negative oral food challenge is shown in relation to the respective values of skin prick test (SPT) and serum IgE (sIgE):



Treatment of food allergy involves strict avoidance of the trigger food.

Medications, such as epineprine, manage symptoms of disease, but currently, there is no cure for food allergy. OIT and herbal formula trials are ongoing but there is no conclusive evidence of sustained benefit yet.

References:

ICON: Food allergy. Burks AW, Tang M, Sicherer S, Muraro A, Eigenmann PA, Ebisawa M, Fiocchi A, Chiang W, Beyer K, Wood R, Hourihane J, Jones SM, Lack G, Sampson HA. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2012 Feb 22. [Epub ahead of print]