Allergenicity and Food Processing

Food allergy is complicated. It is defined as ‘‘an adverse health effect arising from a specific immune response that occurs reproducibly on exposure to a given food.’’

Allergies are immunologically mediated reactions that affect organs such as the skin, gut, and airways. The prevalence of allergic conditions is increasing at an alarming rate. A U.S. survey repeated on three occasions compared the prevalence of peanut allergy in children from 1997 to 2008, showing that the rate more than tripled…