Allergens
Food allergy sufferers must stay alert to every food item they eat to avoid severe allergic reactions.
The distinctions between intolerance and allergy are very important to clarify because the terms do not have the same effects and consequences on the allergic individuals' health. A food intolerance is not harmful to the immune system, but may bring discomfort, poor digestion, intestinal gas, or other such symptoms. A food allergy is more serious : it can be dangerous or fatal. An allergic individual can experience breathing problems, skin rash and anaphylaxis reaction within minutes or hours after contact with an allergen. In fact, just a slight trace of allergen on the lips, such as after a kiss, may trigger an anaphylaxis reaction which must be countered as soon as possible by injection of epinephrine (called adrenaline), with the use of an auto injector such as EpiPen™ or Twinject™, and requires medical assistance and observation in case a second reaction occurs in the following minutes or hours.
The most common food allergens are dairy, eggs, fish, gluten, nuts, peanut, seafood, soya and wheat.
The allergens can be classified under the following categories:
Beans |
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| Berries blackberry, black curren, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, gooseberry, raspberry, strawberry |
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| Citrus fruits grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange, tangerine |
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| Dairies butter, casein, cheese (blue cheese), cow’s milk, cream, goat’s milk, ice cream, yogurt |
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| Fruits apple, apricot, avocado, banana, fig, grape, kiwi fruit, olive, peach, pear, plum, watermelon |
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| Grains or cereals barley, bran, corn, oat, rice (brown rice), rye, sarasin, spelt, tritiale, wheat |
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| Meat beef, chorizo, chicken, horse, lamb, pork, poultry, turkey |
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| Nuts almond, beechnut, Brazil nut, cashew nut, chestnut, cob nut, coconut, hazelnut, Macadamia nut, pecan nut, pine kernel, pine nut, pistachio nut, tree nut, walnut |
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| Plants mint, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, turmeric |
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| Root vegetables carrot, parsnip, turnip |
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| Salad vegetables capsicum (bell pepper, chilli pepper, pepper & sweet pepper), cucumber, lettuce, radish, tomato |
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| Seafood abalone, anchovy, eel, fish (cod, crayfish, salmon, sardine, sole, trout, tuna), crustaceans (crab, lobster, mussel, prawn, shrimp), finfish (grouper, haddock, walleye), molluscs (octopus, slug, snail), shellfish (clam, oyster, scallop, squid) |
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| Seeds canola, cottonseed, flax seed, lentils, linseed, lupine seed, mustard, safflower, sesame, soya, sunflower seed |
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Spices |
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| Squashes courgette (zucchini), pumpkin, squash, turnip |
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| Tropical fruits banana, cantaloupe, coconut, mango, melon, papaya, pineapple |
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| Vegetables asparagus, aubergine (eggplant), bean, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chick pea, corn, egg plant, garlic, onion, pea, pickle, potato, spinach |
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| Others beer, buckwheat, chocolate, egg (egg liquid, powder, egg solid, egg white, egg white powder, egg yolk), egg yolk powder, enriched white floor, food colorings, fruit juices, fizzy drinks, gluten, gelatine, Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)lactose, honey, Monosodium Glutamate(MSG), preservatives, red dye, sugar, sulphites, tea (black tea), tonic water, vinegar, yeast (baker & brewer) |
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