Allergens

The allergen is a substance capable of inducing an inappropriate reaction of the organism, in susceptible persons who have been in contact with the substance previously.

Characteristics of allergens:

• They represent a minimal portion of the food.

• They have a high biological potency, so that small amounts of substances are capable of triggering complex symptoms.

• The minimum amount of allergenic substance capable of provoking an allergic reaction depends on the degree of sensitivity of the individual.

• The time it takes for symptoms to appear after ingestion of an allergenic substance may be only a few minutes in some cases and may take hours in others.

Classification of allergens: the allergens contained in the same substance are classified according to the number of individuals who react to them, in two groups:

• Major allergens: those allergens contained in a substance, to which most individuals sensitive to the substance react.

• Minor allergens: those allergens contained in a substance, to which only a small part of the individuals sensitive to the substance react.

Foods containing allergenic substances:

• Cereals such as wheat, rye, barley, oats.

• Crustaceans and crustacean products.

• Fish and fish products.

• Peanuts and peanut products.

• Soybeans and soybean products.

• Milk and milk products.

• Nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts.

• Celery and celery products.

• Mustard and mustard products.

• Grains and derived products.

• Lupins and lupin products.

• Mollusks and products based on mollusks.