An FSA (Food Standards Agency) study has found that foods such as peanuts and tree nuts like hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds, are most likely to cause an allergic reaction.
The Patterns and Prevalence of Adult Food Allergy (PAFA) report, a large study into the prevalence of food allergies in the adult population in the UK, found that more than 30% of adults reported some types of adverse reactions when eating food – meaning they had an illness or trouble when eating a particular food.
When this was investigated further through a clinical assessment, it was found that around 6% of the UK adult population are estimated to have a clinically confirmed food allergy. This equates to around 2.4 million adults in the UK.
The research findings include:
foods such as peanuts and tree nuts like hazelnuts, walnuts and almonds, are most likely to cause an allergic reaction
many individuals also had allergies to fresh fruits such as apple, peach and kiwi fruit. These were associated with allergies to birch pollen, also known as pollen-food allergy syndrome or oral allergy syndrome
allergies to foods like milk, fish, shrimp and mussels were uncommon
childhood food allergies persist into early adulthood, and then further increase with around half of food allergies developing in later adulthood
The Food Standards Agency said it remains committed to ensuring that consumers have clear and accurate allergen labelling to support people in the UK living with a food allergy. It said the report will help guide its future work on allergens to ensure everyone can enjoy food that is safe.
