Food allergens and food allergies Q. What is a food allergen?
A. A naturally occurring food protein that can cause an allergic reaction in some people. That person’s immune system mistakes an allergen for a threat and mounts a response. People who don’t have that allergy don’t respond to that allergen. Experts estimate that eight groups of foods account for more than 90% of all food allergies in the U.S. Sometimes referred to as the “Big eight allergens”, these eight groups of foods are: milk, eggs, soybeans, peanuts, wheat, tree nuts (e.g. almonds, walnuts, and cashews), fish, and Crustacean shellfish (e.g. shrimp, lobster, and crab). Click here for an important article, “Got [hidden] Food Allergens?” about the BIG 8 allergens, pending FDA labeling mandates, and building an allergen control program. (This is a PDF file – requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader; if you need it please visit Adobe’s web site.
