Cornell professor seeks participants for food allergy study

Gannett News Service

ITHACA — Katie Adams was about 20 and traveling with her parents in
Kenya when, despite being careful, she had a severe food allergy
reaction, with painful stomach and uterine cramps and difficulty
breathing.

She's allergic to peanuts. In retrospect, she figured she ate too
many chapatis, crackers that were probably made of lentil flour.
Lentils, like peanuts, are legumes.

To help people like Adams, now 39, researchers at Cornell University
in tandem with the University of California, Davis, are seeking 70
people age 18 and over with severe food allergies to peanuts, tree
nuts and shellfish to participate in a study on severe food
allergies. Food allergies affect almost 7 million Americans.

"If these folks go into anaphylactic shock, they could die," said Bob
Gravani, a Cornell professor of food science.

He wants to interview people with food allergies that are serious
enough that they carry EpiPens, which can inject adrenaline
(epinephrine) in case of an emergency.

"We are learning about how people manage," he said.

Adams' scary experience might have also been a result of cross-
contamination, Gravani said. He hopes the study will inform food
safety measures like segregation of allergenic foods by manufacturers
and in places like restaurants.

"We want to hear about their dining out experiences," Gravani said.

.....
Gravani said many people are confused about food allergies, and
people can have food sensitivities that are not actually allergies.
For instance, someone told him she was allergic to milk and then said
she was lactose intolerant. Lactose intolerance is a problem with
digesting a sugar in milk; an allergy is a problem with reactions to
proteins, he said.

.....About 3.5 to 4 percent of the population have severe food
allergies and account for about 29,000 emergency room visits and 150
to 200 deaths a year.

"There's a number of people in the United States, especially
physicians, who think the presence of food allergies is growing and
will continue to grow," Gravani said, noting that he hopes to help
those serving selling and serving food to improve their practices and
labeling.

Severe food allergies impact nearly 7 million Americans. Gravani said
that these people must avoid exposure when selecting food. While the
food industry is required to provide clear food label information, he
says that food service people must also be aware of ingredients that
cause adverse reactions and follow exposure-prevention practices.

The first phases of labeling starting in January through the Food
Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act 2004, require clear
labeling. Now labels must say things like "contains peanuts"
or "contains milk (when ingredient listings in past might have only
listed dairy ingredients like whey or casein), and Adams said she has
had an easier time avoiding allergenic foods because of better
labeling at the store and in restaurants.

"The `Big 8' food allergens — affecting 90 percent of those who have
food allergies — are peanuts, tree nuts, milk and dairy products,
egg, soy, fish, shellfish and wheat," Gravani said.

Gravani hopes the study will help people who have food allergies.

"If we can make managing a life-threatening allergy easy for someone,
we'll make a difference," he said.

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