L van der Poel,1 MB ChB, MRCPCH J Chen,2 MD

A food allergy (FA) is an adverse immune response to a food protein.1 This may be IgE-mediated (either prima-ry or related to a cross-reacting pollen), or non-IgE-mediated. FA is distinct from other adverse responses to food, such as food intolerance, pharmacological reactions, and toxin-mediated reactions. The term food hypersensitivity (FHS) combines allergy and intoler-ance. While allergy tests can confirm IgE sensitisation, a double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge may be required to verify the diagnosis. Cross-sectional studies, such as the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in children (ISAAC) have con-firmed that atopic diseases represent a major health problem in many countries, and that the rates of respi-ratory allergy such as allergic rhinitis and asthma hav