Those who are still allergic by the age of 12 or so have less than an 8% chance of outgrowing the allergy.Peanut and tree nut allergies are less likely to be outgrown, although evidence shows that about 20% of those with peanut allergies and 9% of those with tree nut allergies will outgrow them.In Japan, allergy to buckwheat flour, used for soba noodles, is more common than peanuts, tree nuts or foods made from soy beans. United States
In the United States, an estimated 12 million people have food allergies. Food allergy affects as many as 5% of infants less than three years of age and 3% to 4% of adults. The prevalence of food allergies is rising. Food allergies cause roughly 30,000 emergency room visits and 150 deaths per year. Regulation
Whether rates of food allergy are increasing or not, food allergy awareness has definitely increased, with impacts on the quality of life for children, their parents and their caregivers. In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 causes people to be reminded of allergy problems every time they handle a food package, and restaurants have added allergen warnings to menus. The Culinary Institute of America, a premier school for chef training, has courses in allergen-free cooking and a separate teaching kitchen. School systems have protocols about what foods can be brought into the school. Despite all these precautions, people with serious allergies are aware that accidental exposure can easily occur at other peoples houses, at school or in restaurants.
Does the amino acid sequence of the transferred proteins resemble the sequence of known allergenic proteins? Are the transferred proteins resistant to digestion - a trait shared by many allergenic proteins? Genes approved for animal use can be restricted from human consumption due to potential for allergic reactions. In 1998 Starlink brand corn restricted to animals was detected in the human food supply, leading to first a voluntary and then a FDA mandated recall. There are requirements in some countries and recommendations in others that all foods containing GMO ingredients be so labeled, and that there be a post-launch monitoring system to report adverse effects (much there exists in some countries for drug and dietary supplement reporting). Restaurants
In the US, the FDA Food Code states that the person in charge in restaurants should have knowledge about major food allergens, cross-contacts, and symptoms of food allergy
reactions. Restaurant staff, including wait staff and kitchen staff, may not be adequately informed about allergenic ingredients, or the risk of cross-contact when kitchen utensils used to prepare food may have been in previous contact with an allergenic food. The problem may be compounded when customers have a hard time describing their food allergies or when wait staff have a hard time understanding those with food allergies when taking an order. Diagnosing issues
There exists both over-reporting and under-reporting of the prevalence of food allergies.