Food allergies.

Food allergies. The incidence of food allergy appears to be on the increase in industrializ ed societies. The reasons suggested are consumption of new products and the evolution of food technology The public perceives food allergies different ly from doctors: adverse reactions to foods are misclassified as food aller gies although they are in most of the cases non-allergic food intolerance o r food aversion. Indeed, in controlled studies, a low prevalence of food al lergy although they are in most of the cases non-allergy has been found (1- 2% in adults, 2-8% in children). Despite a number of advances in the field of diagnosis and therapy, the standard methods of diagnosis and therapy for food allergies remain the same: double-blind placebo-controlled food chall enge and avoidance. Reports on the effects of food processing indicate that certain processes for certain foods can either eliminate, reduce, or not c hange the allergenic potential. As more food allergen identification and in formation on the protein structures responsible becomes available, perhaps better ways to use processing methods to reduce or remove allergenicity may become apparent and feasible. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.