Food

Clinical information

Food allergens enter the body via the gastrointestinal tract. Within a short time after consumption, the IgE-mediated immune reaction may lead to symptoms such as burning or itching in the mouth, nausea, intestinal and stomach cramps, diarrhoea or reddening of the skin. Severe reactions are associated with bouts of asthma, dyspnoea and rapid heartbeat. In rare cases they lead to an anaphylactic shock. Foods that most frequently trigger allergic reactions include nuts, peanuts, soy, wheat, fish, milk and eggs. With a prevalence of 5% to 10%, primary allergic sensitisations to foods play an important role, particularly in infants and young children. Food allergies in adults occur with a prevalence of 1% to 5%.

Diagnostics

For clarification of sensitisations to food allergens, EUROMMUN offers different food profiles (EUROLINE) for in vitro determination of human IgE antibodies against the most frequent food allergens in serum or plasma. Moreover, country-specific food allergy profiles are available which have been developed with regard to regional eating habits.

In addition, the total IgE concentration can be determined using the Total IgE ELISA.

_{EUROAssay products are only available in Germany.}