Facts about food allergy
In theory, any food can cause a food allergy. But in fact just a handful of foods are to blame for 90% of allergic reactions to food in the UK. They are:
- celery
- cereals containing gluten (including wheat, rye, barley and oats)
- crustaceans (including crabs and prawns)
- eggs
- fish
- lupin
- milk
- molluscs (such as mussels and oysters)
- mustard
- nuts (including Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts)
- peanuts (groundnuts or monkey nuts)
- sesame seeds
- soya and
- sulphur dioxide or sulphites.
In children, the most common allergic reactions to food are to milk, peanuts, nuts, eggs, soya and wheat. Usually children grow out of most types of food allergy in early childhood. In adults, most allergic reactions are to peanuts, nuts, fish, shellfish and wheat.
When someone has a food allergy, their immune system reacts to a particular food as if it isn’t safe. This reaction can make them very ill. People can be allergic to one or more foods.
If someone has a severe food allergy, this can cause a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis (pronounced ‘anna-fill-axis’) Anaphylaxis affects the whole body, often within minutes of eating the food.
Symptoms of an allergic reaction
The symptoms of an allergic reaction can vary and the reactions can be more or less severe on different occasions. Even if you try very hard to avoid the food that you are allergic to, you may still eat it by accident. Generally, you won’t experience all of the symptoms at the same time and you should bear in mind that some of the symptoms of an allergic reaction can also be symptoms of other illnesses.
The most common symptoms of an allergic reaction include:
- coughing
- dry, itchy throat and tongue
- itchy skin or rash
- nausea and feeling bloated
- diarrhoea and/or vomiting
- wheezing and shortness of breath
- swelling of the lips and throat
- runny or blocked nose
- sore, red and itchy eyes
- faintness and collapse
It’s important that you and your family, friends and colleagues can tell if you are having an allergic reaction, so they can get help or assist you in taking your medication as soon as possible. If you think you have a food allergy, you should get advice from a qualified GP or a dietician.
Some foods can be quite hard to avoid because they are used as an ingredient in lots of different food products. This guide gives advice on how to avoid the foods that you are allergic to.
Buying food
Pre-packed foods
It is essential to look carefully at the label on any pre-packed food you buy if you have a food allergy yourself, or if you are buying food for someone who does.
Check the ingredients
All pre-packed foods must give a list of ingredients. Always check the ingredients on a food product to see if it contains the food you need to avoid. Even if you have bought the product before, you should still check the label. The recipe might have changed since the last time you bought it.
Every pre-packed food must show clearly on the label if it contains one of the foods listed above (or if one of its ingredients contains, or is made from, one of these)
Some people may have allergic reactions to foods that are not on the list, but all ingredients have to be listed on the label of pre-packed food products (apart from a few exceptions). So you can avoid the food you are allergic to by checking the ingredients carefully. Some food labels may have a warning to show that the food product may contain foods that people are commonly known to be allergic to, for example 'may contain traces of nuts' or 'may contain seeds'. This means that even though nuts or seeds aren’t deliberately included in the food, the manufacturer can’t be sure that the product doesn’t accidentally contain small amounts of them. If you are allergic to any of the foods mentioned in these warnings you should avoid these food products.
If you think that a food product has been labelled wrongly, report this to the trading standards service at Warwickshire County Council.
Supermarket lists and ‘free from’ foods
Most of the major supermarket chains produce lists of the products they sell that do not deliberately contain particular foods (such as gluten and milk),and are produced in a way that prevents these ingredients getting into the products accidentally. Contact the supermarket for more information. These lists can go out of date as products are launched or discontinued, or recipes change. So always check the label on every food product you buy, even if it’s on one of these lists. Many supermarkets and health food shops sell special ranges of products that don’t contain foods such as wheat, gluten or dairy products, but these can be expensive. Bear in mind that some foods that are not specifically marketed to people with a food allergy could still be free from the food you are allergic to. Always check the ingredients.
Foods that are not pre-packed
Foods that aren’t pre-packed don’t have to be labelled with the same information as pre-packed foods, so you might not be able to check the ingredients. Foods that aren’t pre-packed include foods sold from a bakery, butcher, deli counter or salad bar, and foods weighed and sold loose. It’s possible that small amounts of the food you need to avoid could have got into one of these products, for example, from being next to another food, from a knife or spoon, or from being wrapped in paper or a bag that has touched another food. If you have a severe allergy, it’s generally safer to avoid these foods.
Eating out
Some people need to be more careful than others to avoid the food they are allergic to. This is because a tiny amount could cause a life-threatening reaction. The following advice about restaurants and foods that aren’t pre-packed is aimed at people with more severe food allergies. If you have a severe allergy, remember that when you eat food prepared by someone else, for example in a restaurant, you can’t be absolutely sure that it won’t contain the food you are allergic to. But there are things you can do to reduce the chances of having a problem.
Tell the restaurant
When you book a table at a restaurant, tell the person taking the booking about your food allergy and ask them to either check with the chef or ask to speak to the chef directly to be sure they can provide you with a meal that doesn’t contain the food you are allergic to. If they are not sure, it’s better to eat somewhere else. When you arrive at a restaurant, make sure the waiter or waitress knows about your allergy and how serious it is. If you are not confident that they understand how important it is for you to avoid a particular food, then it’s better not to eat there.
Ask about the dishes
Read the menu carefully to see if there is any mention of the food you are allergic to in the name or description of a dish. Remember that the food might not be mentioned, so always check with the waiter or waitress. Tell them what dishes you are planning to order and ask them to check with the chef that they definitely do not contain the food you need to avoid. If you can, speak to the chef. If the staff don’t seem sure that the dish is free from that food, it’s better to order something else. If you have a nut or seed allergy, ask what oils have been used in salad dressings and if there are any nuts or seeds in the garnishes.
Watch out for ‘hidden’ ingredients
Be aware of foods that contain the food you are allergic to, for example almonds in marzipan, peanuts in satay sauce, oyster sauce in Chinese food, fish sauce in Thai dishes, milk in some crisps or sesame seeds in hummus. If you are allergic to nuts or peanuts, be especially careful when choosing a dessert, because nuts are often used in cakes, trifles, etc, for example as a decoration on top, or in the base, and they might not be included in the name or description of the dessert. If you have an allergy to nuts, seeds or peanuts, you should be very careful with Malaysian, Thai, Chinese and Indian dishes, because these commonly contain nuts or peanuts, or are cooked in oils made from nuts, seeds or groundnuts (another name for peanuts).Many vegetarian dishes also contain nuts. Remember that nuts can be ground up, which means you might not be able to see them. For example, ground almonds or peanut flour can be used to thicken sauces in Indian food and the chef may not think of this as nuts or peanuts when you ask about the content of the meal. If you can’t be confident that dishes are free from nuts, seeds and peanuts (and not cooked in nut, groundnut or sesame oil) it’s safer to avoid eating meals or takeaways from these types of restaurants.
Remember, meals are not always made the same way, so if you have eaten a particular dish in one restaurant, don’t assume it will be OK the next time or in a different restaurant.
Self-service areas
Some restaurants and cafés have self-service areas where food is in open containers. Even though some dishes might not contain the food you are allergic to, it’s easy for a small amount to get into a dish accidentally, either because containers are next to each other, or because people use the same spoons for different dishes. If you have a severe food allergy, it's safer to avoid eating food from this kind of self-service area.
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