What do you know about food allergies? Today we dare to give you a few touches on allergens and the importance of being well identified so that we eat safely, whether we eat inside or outside home.
An allergen is a substance that can induce a hypersensitivity reaction in people.
Food allergy and its reactions
Allergens can produce two types of reactions:
- Allergy:
It is a reaction of the immune system to the ingestion of a food. The most common manifestations are coughing, itching, skin rashes, abdominal pain or diarrhea - Intolerance:
the body reacts by having difficulty digesting food but the immune system is not activated. Reactions to intolerances are not serious and the most common are stomach pain, gas or diarrhea
Food allergies and intolerances affect 1-3% of the adult population in Europe and 4-6% of the child population.
How to avoid the symptoms of food allergy
The only way to avoid symptoms in both cases, allergy or intolerance, is to eliminate the food from the diet. Of course, it is not recommended to eliminate foods from our diet when there is no allergic reaction or intolerance.
According to annex II of Regulation 1169/2011, although there are more than 150 allergens, there is a list of 14 food allergens that must be declared, both in packaged and unpackaged products and in all types of establishments that offer food: vending machines, supermarkets, hotels, takeaway food establishments, cafeterias, restaurants and buffets.
The objective of this law is to make it easier for the consumer to make safe food choices.
The 14 mandatory allergens are:
- Cereals containing gluten: wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt, kamut
- Crustaceans and products containing crustaceans
- Eggs and egg-containing products
- Fish and products containing fish
- Peanuts and products containing peanuts
- Soy and products containing soy
- Milk and its derivatives, including lactose
- Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecans, Brazil nuts, pistachios, macadamias, Australia nuts
- Celery and derived products
- Mustard and derived products
- Sesame seeds and products containing sesame seeds
- Sulfur dioxide and sulphites in quantities greater than 10mg/k or 10mg/l
- Lupines and lupine-based products
- Molluscs and mollusc-based products
At our GreenVita restaurants, your safety and satisfaction are our top priorities. If you have any allergies or food intolerances, please always ask our team for the allergen analysis of our menu.
We are waiting for you to enjoy our healthy food at your favorite GreenVita or with the delivery or take away services.
See you the next blog! 😜