Food Allergy

Around 4,500 hospital admissions in the UK per annum are attributed to food allergy, of which one third are due to severe, anaphylactic reactions. Peanut is one of the most potent allergenic foods, causing IgE-mediated reactions in at least 2% of UK school-age children1. In young children, the most common food allergy is that to cow's milk, affecting up to 1 in 30 infants2. Allergic reactions to foods are unpredictable, and accidental exposures can result in severe allergic reactions, and in rare instances fatal reactions. Due to the potential for life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) and the restrictions needed to mitigate this risk, food allergy has a major impact on the quality of life, since for both patients and their families the pressures of avoidance of implicated foods and the fear of a reaction due to accidental exposure significantly impair the quality of life