Food allergies affect only a few individuals in the population. Food allergies involve an abnormal immunologic response to a particular food or food component, usually a naturally occurring protein component of the food. The same food or food component would be safe and nutritious for the vast majority of consumers. The most common form of true food allergies occurs through an antibody-mediated mechanism involving immunoglobulin E (IgE).

Mechanism of IgE-Mediated Food Allergy

In IgE-mediated food allergies, allergen-specific IgE antibodies are produced in the body in response to exposure to a food allergen, usually a protein. These IgE antibodies are highly specific and will recognize only a specific portion of the protein that they are directed against. Occasionally, IgE antibodies produced against one particular protein in a specific ...

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