Food Allergy Awareness Week, May 13th-19th 2018
Food allergy awareness week was initiated in 1998 is by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Each May, food is celebrated to highlight the seriousness of food allergies.
Food allergy is an immune system reaction that occurs soon after eating a certain food.
Even a tiny amount of the allergy-causing food can prompt the release of histamine and other substances in the body that cause various symptoms, depending on where in the body they are released (digestive problems, hives or swollen airways).
In some people, a food allergy can cause severe symptoms or even a life-threatening reaction known as anaphylaxis that requires immediate medical treatment.
Approximately 220 – 520 million people suffer from food allergy worldwide. Adverse immune responses to foods affect around 5% of young children and 3%-4% of adults in westernized countries. Allergy to non-native foods such as kiwi fruit and sesame is on the increase and at least 5-8% of children in the UK alone have a food allergy that is closely linked to other atopic diseases.