Food allergy – what is all the fuss about?

Associate Professor Katie Allen, from the Department of Allergy and Immunology at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital gave delegates at the recent Allergen Bureau breakfast seminar an overview of food allergy from a clinical perspective.

Included in the presentation were statistics showing the increasing incidence of hospitalisations due to food allergy anaphylaxis in Australia, and images of patients suffering from symptoms of food allergy. Emphasis was given to a broad range of issues faced by food allergic consumers, such as interpretation of clinical test results, incorrect application of adrenaline when using auto-injectors, banning of allergen-containing foods at some schools and the over-use of precautionary allergen statements by the food industry.

Katie also presented some findings from a labelling survey she and her colleague conducted on the prevalence of allergen avoidance advisory statements in Australian manufactured goods. The results show as many as 93% of products sampled from the sweet biscuit category bear allergen avoidance advisory statements with regard to peanuts and tree nuts, and 70% of products in the sweet biscuits and the bakery categories bear allergen avoidance advisory statements with regard to egg. The results of this survey are currently being drafted for publication later in the year.

The full presentation can be downloaded here [PDF file approx 1.48 MB] from the Allergen Bureau website.