A Sydney skin specialist recently told delegates at the  Australasian College of Dermatologists’ Annual Scientific Meeting that Australians are the world's worst allergy hypochondriacs, believing they have a sensitivity to food when they do not.  Professor Connie Katelaris, Professor of Immunology and Allergy at Campbelltown Hospital, maintains that women are more likely than men to attribute a skin condition due to a food reaction.

A review of the Europrevall research projects into food allergy was recently presented on Euronews, the international news channel covering world news from a European perspective. The 8 minute program, entitled ‘The future for food allergy research’ is currently available via
www.euronews.net

New research into the effect of antacids on the development of food allergies has recently been presented in a paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (2008;121:1301-8.), currently available free on-line at www.jacionline.org/current

During the recent Food Allergy Awareness Week (May 11-17), Maria Said, president of consumer lobby group Anaphylaxis Australia, announced that on current projections, the number of people in Australia with allergies would nearly double to 7.7 million in just over 40 years.

In honor of the 11th annual Food Allergy Awareness Week in the USA, Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) unveiled its new advocacy initiative "Five Steps Forward for Food Allergy".

The USA Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is currently working to establish a definition for "gluten-free" so that the words can be used accurately on food labels. The FDA proposal could give labeling approval to food that does not contain 20 parts per million or more gluten.