PATTERNS AND PREVALENCE OF FOOD ALLERGY ACROSS EUROPE

摘要

The Institute of Food Research in Norwich leads the EuroPrevall study, which aims to collect information on the patterns and prevalence of food allergy across Europe and beyond. 30 years ago, no-one had ever heard of food allergies, and there certainly were not the headlines that appear in the newspapers about people dying from allergic reactions, and all the information that has appeared on food packaging about allergens. There certainly was not a need for children to be given adrenalin pens, nor were peanuts banned from entire schools because of children with peanut allergies. The question is, what has changed? Nowadays, many more people are interested in and informed about food allergy, but there are many more people who do not understand how awful an allergic reaction can be: how scary they are, that a bite of food can kill, a kiss from someone who has recently eaten an allergenic food can cause a reaction in someone allergic to that food. These are just examples of the sorts of reactions that can occur.