Regulatory action criteria for filth and other extraneous materials II. Allergenic mites: An emerging food safety issue

Four species of food contaminating mites have recently been reported to hav e caused IgE-mediated allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, in persons who consumed mite contaminated foods. The mite species are the American ho use dust mite, Dermatophagoides farinae Hughes (Acarina: Pyroglyphidae); th e scaly grain mite, Suidasia sp. prob. pontifica Oudemans (Acarina: Suidasi idae), an acarid mite, Thyreophagus entomophagus Portus & Gomez (Acarina: A caridae); and the mold mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Acarina: A caridae). Allergenic mites are an emerging food safety issue as ingested al lergens in mite-contaminated food.