Frequently asked questions
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The major food allergens are as follows:
- Cereals containing gluten such as wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soy
- Milk
- Nuts
- Celery (including celeriac)
- Mustard
- Sesame seeds
- Sulphur dioxide
- Lupin
- Molluscs
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There are 2 classes of allergic reactions, minor and major. Minor allergic reactions can give you these symptoms:
- Sneezing, runny, blocked or itchy nose
- A rash (sometimes hives), or cracked skin
- Red, itchy and sore eyes
- Wheezing, coughing, tight chest
- Swollen lips, tongue, eyes, face
- Vomiting or diarrhoea
- Swelling of throat or mouth
- Struggling to breathe
- Blue lips
- Collapsing from loss of consciousness
- Confusion
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If you are experiencing a minor allergic reaction, you will most likely have to wait for it to pass or take something like an antihistamine. Major allergic reactions can result in loss of consciousness, respiratory or cardiac arrest. If they have an EpiPen, it must be administered. Even if they do have an EpiPen and it has been administered, emergency services must be called if someone is experiencing the symptoms of a major allergic reaction.
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You should always use clean workspaces and utensils when preparing different types of food to avoid cross-contamination. Here are some tips to prevent cross-contamination with food:
- Always wash hands before preparing food
- Colour coded chopping boards can be used to differentiate between different food groups but specifically useful for raw and ready to eat foods.
- Chopping boards should not be overused and regularly replaced due to the deep grooves that can occur and store bacteria
- Clean surfaces regularly
- Wash fruit and vegetables
- Do not wear jewellery and watches as they can collect bacteria
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Cross-contact – is when one food with an allergen touches another food and the allergen contamination this one. For example, if you put cheese on a burger, the burger patty now can contain the milk protein allergen in cheese. Cross-contamination – is when a harmful bacteria is accidentally transferred from one food to another. This does not usually happen with food allergens but with bacteria such as E Coli.
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Allergens in food can be found on the list of ingredients label on food packaging. Ingredients that are allergens can be noticed by being in bold, contrasting colours or underlines.
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The Food Standards Agency states that ‘an staff handling food are supervised, instructed and trained in food hygiene’ and ‘have relevant training for the job’.
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An intolerance is a difficulty digesting certain foods which follows with a physical reaction to them. Some of the symptoms of an intolerance is bloating, wind, diarrhoea or skin irritation. An intolerance doesn’t involve your immune system (like allergies do) and has slower onset symptoms than allergies. Food allergies can be more serious and sometimes life-threatening whereas intolerances are not
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Although there are tests happening to try and cure this, at the moment there are no cures for food allergies. There are treatments for allergies but no preventative measures.
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