Allergy to food additives

Allergy to food additives: Purpose of review

To provide an update of the studies concerning the diagnosis and management of food additives allergy.

Recent findings

Additives improve specific characteristics of food products, but they may induce allergic even life-threatening reactions. Physical examination and medical history are basic to assess specific in-vivo and in-vitro tests. The only treatment for allergic patients consists in avoiding the food containing culprit additives. High-risk patients should be able to recognize severe reactions and self-manage them.

Summary

The prevalence of adverse reactions to food additives is low, and it may depend on comorbidities, like asthma or chronic idiopathic urticaria. Food labels may help the correct identification of ingredients. Natural additives like spices should cause immediate reactions because of a pollen-sensitization or panallargen proteins presence. Additive-free diets may help the patient care, but the authors suggest assessing an oral food challenge with the culprit substance if there are no contraindications.

Correspondence to Rocco Luigi Valluzzi, MD, Division of Allergy, Department of Pediatric Medicine, Bambino Gesù Children's Research Hospital, Piazza S. Onofrio 4, Holy See, 00161 Rome, Italy. Tel: + 39 6 6859 2296; fax: +39 2 6859 2300; e-mail: rvalluzzi@gmail.com

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