Food Allergy Training - State Map
The course is not currently accredited for: Illinois, Massachusetts, or Rhode Island.
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Why is Food Allergy Training important?
- Food allergy training could be the difference between life or death for a patron of your food service establishment or business.
- With the number of people with food allergies and the number of recalls due to undeclared allergens increasing, food allergy training is an important component of any food service operation.
What Is a Food Allergy?
- A food allergy is a medical condition in which exposure to a food triggers a harmful immune response. The immune response, called an allergic reaction, occurs because the immune system attacks proteins in the food that are normally harmless. The proteins that trigger the reaction are called allergens.
- The symptoms of an allergic reaction to food can range from mild (itchy mouth, a few hives) to severe (throat tightening, difficulty breathing).
- Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that is sudden in onset and can cause death.
To Which Foods Are People Allergic?
- More than 170 foods have been reported to cause allergic reactions.
- Eight major food allergens – milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and crustacean shellfish – are responsible for most of the serious food allergy reactions in the United States.
- Allergy to sesame is an emerging concern.
How Many People Have Food Allergies?
- Researchers estimate that up to 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 5.9 million children under age 18 - that’s 1 in 13 children.
- Moreover, about 30% of children with food allergies are allergic to more than one food.
Food Allergies Are on the Rise
- The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) reports that the prevalence of food allergy in children increased by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.
- Between 1997 and 2008, the prevalence of peanut or tree nut allergy appears to have more than tripled in U.S. children.
Food Allergy Reactions Are Serious and Can Be Life-Threatening
- Every three minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room.
- Each year in the U.S., 200,000 people require emergency medical care for allergic reactions to food.
- Childhood hospitalizations for food allergy tripled between the late 1990s and the mid-2000s.
- About 40 percent of children with food allergies have experienced a severe allergic reaction such as anaphylaxis.
Is There a Cure?
- There is no cure for food allergy. Food allergies are managed by avoiding the problem food(s) and learning to recognize and treat reactions symptoms.
- Food allergy therapies are under study in clinical trials, but none has been proven yet for general use.
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