Food allergens are an exaggerated immune response by certain individuals to proteins or their derivatives that occur naturally in some foods.
It is a major cause of life threatening hypersensitivity reactions.
The food allergy might results from sensitization to ingested food proteins or to aeroallergens though the respiratory route. Several pollen allergens can confer cross-reactivity to homologous proteins in plant foods.
Foods most commonly reported to cause allergic reactions are peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, eggs, cereals, fish, crustaceans and sesame.
The reactions happen rapidly, usually within a few minutes of exposure to inhaled substance or eating a food.
Allergic reactions to foods vary greatly: from mild gastrointestinal discomfort to skin rashes and potentially life threatening breathing difficulties such as asthma and anaphylaxis.
Currently, the avoidance of the allergenic food is the only method of preventing further reactions for allergenic patients.
When the term ‘allergy’ was coined, it meant an adverse reaction to any substance that does not bother most people. Then, in the 1920’s it was discovered that type of antibody called IgE was involved in many allergic reactions, especially those to inhalants.
The term food allergy refers specially to the immune mediated adverse reaction. Food allergens can be further divided into IgE and non IgE mediated reactions. Food allergens are therefore the antigenic molecules which induce the immunologic response.
Food Allergens