Food Allergies Demand the Attention of All Food Producers and Marketers
Agriculture can play key role in consumer satisfaction 

There are now an estimated 12 million Americans who suffer from food allergies, double the number from just 10 years ago.

In fact, those who suffer food allergies outnumber farmers in the United States by close to four to one. With this in mind, you can easily see that for millions of consumers, selecting a fresh-baked pie at a harvest festival, shopping for cookies at a roadside market or considering an ice cream cone at a farm stand can be an exercise in intense concentration instead of an enjoyable experience.

That’s because awareness of food ingredients — in fresh and processed foods alike — is reality for people who are afflicted with serious or life-threatening allergies to common foods. Even a trace amount of some foods can leave some individuals gasping for breath or wildly scratching at a fresh batch of hives.

An allergic reaction, or hypersensitivity, occurs when the body’s immune system overreacts to an allergen, or food protein. More than 160 foods can trigger an allergic reaction, but about 90 percent of all food allergies are triggered by one of eight common foods: eggs, milk, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

People who are allergic to these foods must generally avoid eating them, which means that their buying decisions could impact the bottom line of anyone involved in food production and marketing, including roadside markets, farm bakeries and ice cream stands.

 Rest of the article plus:

• Most common food allergens

• Food allergy facts

• Real life example

• Dairy farmer factors allergy concerns into ice cream stand and restaurant operations

• Food allergy risk management tips

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