Most common food allergy

The most common food allergies are an intolerance to milk, egg, peanut, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. These account for 90% of all food-allergic reactions.

As there is no cure for food allergy, avoidance is the only way to prevent an allergic reaction. Symptoms range from just a mild rash to very severe swelling in the throat and the airways in the lungs.

Scientists estimate that between 6 and 7 million Americans suffer from true food allergies, of which an estimated 150 Americans die each year from severe allergic reactions. The foods that adults or children react to are those foods they eat often. In Japan, for example, rice allergy is more common while in Scandinavia, it is an allergy to cod fish.