What is a food allergy?
Food allergy is an adverse reaction that can occur through ingestion, inhalation or skin contact with a food. The 14 main allergens are responsible for about 90% of food allergies.
Symptoms associated with food allergies may occur minutes, hours or even days after ingesting the food, and may range from:
Mild to moderate: such as itching, swelling of the face/tongue, vomiting, diarrhea, wheezing, difficulty breathing, among others,
Severe: as is the case with anaphylaxis, a generalized reaction, generally associated with respiratory, circulatory and skin changes, which can be fatal.
The prevalence of food allergies has increased throughout the world, mainly affecting babies and young children, impacting the health and quality of life of affected individuals and high costs for healthcare systems.
What foods can cause allergies?
In practice, all foods can cause an allergic reaction. However, the most common allergens in Europe are present in Regulation No. 1169/2011 and their mention, if present in a given food product, is mandatory on the labeling.
Top 14 allergens in Europe:
Cereals containing gluten (namely wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelled, kamut or their hybridized strains) and products based on these cereals, except:
Glucose syrups, including dextrose, based on wheat;
Wheat-based maltodextrins;
Barley-based glucose syrups;
Cereals used to make alcoholic distillates, including ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin.
Crustaceans and crustacean-based products.
Eggs and egg-based products.
Fish and fish products, except:
Fish gelatin used as a transport agent for vitamins or carotenoids;
Fish gelatin or ichthyocola used as a clarifying agent for beer and wine;
Peanuts and peanut-based products.
Soy and soy-based products, except:
Fully refined soybean oil and fat;
Natural mixed tocopherols (E 306), natural D-alpha-tocopherol, natural D-alpha-tocopherol acetate, natural D-alpha-tocopherol succinate derived from soybeans;
Phytosterols and phytosterol esters derived from vegetable oils produced from soybeans;
Vegetable stanol ester produced from soybean vegetable oil sterols;
Milk and milk-based products (including lactose), except:
Whey used in the manufacture of alcoholic distillates, including ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin;
Lactitol;
Nut fruits, namely:
Almonds (Amygdalus communis L.);
Hazelnuts (Corylus avellana);
Walnuts (Juglans regia);
Cashew nuts (Anacardium occidentale);
Pecan nuts [Carya illinoiesis (Wangenh.) K. Koch];
Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa);
Pistachios (Pistacia vera)
Macadamia or Queensland nuts (Macadamia ternifolia)
Products based on these fruits, with the exception of nuts used in the manufacture of alcoholic distillates, including ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin;
Celery and celery-based products.
Mustard and mustard-based products.
Sesame seeds and sesame seed products.
Sulfur dioxide and sulphites in concentrations greater than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/l in terms of total SO2, which must be calculated for products proposed as ready-to-eat or reconstituted, in accordance with the manufacturers' instructions;
Lupine and lupine-based products.
Molluscs and mollusc-based products.
Attention:
Although the legislation lists gluten and the respective cereals in which it is present as an allergen, gluten itself is not an allergen. The allergen in question is wheat. Gluten is included in the legislation as a warning for people with celiac disease, a pathology different from wheat allergy.
How to identify allergens on a food label?
Allergens can be mentioned in different ways on food labels and it is important to know how to identify them. The allergen declaration may appear in the following ways:
In the list of ingredients with highlighted words (bold letters, with contrasting colors, underlined words or in ALL CAPS), indicating that this food product includes allergenic ingredients, those that are highlighted.
If there is no list of ingredients, it is also mandatory to mention allergens using the words “Contains…” on the label.
The expressions “May contain traces of…” or “May contain…” mean that this food product, although it does not contain allergens in its list of ingredients, may have suffered cross-contamination, that is, the food may have had contact with these allergens during production, storage or transport, and which may be present in sufficient quantity to cause a reaction.
