Kids with Food Allergies (KFA) promotes healthy and inclusive living for families managing food allergies. KFA is part of the nation’s oldest and largest asthma and allergy charity, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).

What Is a Food Allergy?
What Are the Symptoms of Food Allergies?
How Common Are Food Allergies?
What Are the Most Frequent Food Allergens?
How Are Food Allergies Managed and Treated?
How Many People Seek Medical Care for Anaphylaxis?
Do People Die from Anaphylaxis or Food Allergy?
What Are the Economic Costs of Food Allergy?
Are Food Allergies Outgrown?

What Is a Food Allergy?

• A food allergy occurs when the body’s immune system sees a certain food as harmful and reacts by causing specific clinical symptoms. This is an allergic reaction.
• Foods that cause allergic reactions are called allergens. People are usually allergic to proteins found in a food allergen.
• There are 2 types of food allergies:
  • Immunoglobulin-E-mediated (IgE-mediated): With this type of food allergy, the body’s immune system makes antibodies called immunoglobulin E (IgE). IgE antibodies react with a certain food and cause immediate symptoms.
    
    Examples include:
    • Peanut allergy
    • Milk allergy
    • Egg allergy
    • Shellfish allergy
    • Fish allergy
    • Tree nut allergy
    • Wheat allergy
    • Soy allergy
    • Sesame allergy
  • Cell-mediated: Immune cells that do not involve IgE antibodies react to a certain food. This reaction causes delayed hypersensitivity symptoms They are sometimes called “non-IgE food allergies”.
    
    Examples include:
    • Eosinophilic [EE-oh-sin-oh-FILL-ick] esophagitis (EoE): a chronic (long-term) allergic or immune condition that causes swelling in your esophagus (part of the throat).
    • Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) [eff-PIES]: an immune reaction in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, that commonly causes vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. Symptoms usually appear about 1 to 4 hours after eating a food trigger.
    • Allergic proctocolitis [prahk-toe-koh-LIE-tis]: an allergy to cow’s milk or soy proteins in formula or human milk that affects infants and is typically outgrown by age 1. Food allergies do not include intolerances (like lactose intolerance) or other types of immune-related responses to food (like celiac disease or Crohn’s).

What Are the Symptoms of Food Allergies?

• Allergic reactions can range from mild to severe and involve the skin, mouth, throat, eyes, lungs, heart, gut, and brain.¹
  • Skin: hives, itchiness, swelling, flushing
  • Mouth: swollen lips or tongue, itchiness, tingling or itchy feeling in the mouth
  • Throat: swelling, tightness, difficulty swallowing
  • Eyes: swelling around the eyes, itchiness
  • Lungs (airways): difficulty breathing, wheezing, coughing
  • Heart: passing out, dizziness, low blood pressure, shock
  • Gut: vomiting, cramping, diarrhea
  • Brain: passing out (linked with blood/heart system), change in mental status, severe sense of doom
• Severe symptoms affecting multiple parts of the body are called anaphylaxis [anna-fih-LACK-sis]. This reaction worsens quickly, and may lead to a medical emergency.
• Anaphylaxis must be recognized and treated right away with epinephrine to provide the best chance for improvement and to prevent serious, potentially life-threatening complications.

How Common Are Food Allergies?

• As of 2024, nearly 22 million people have food allergies in the U.S. This equals about 6 out of 100 people.^2,3
  • About 18 million (7 out of 100) U.S. adults have food allergies.²
  • About 4 million (5 out of 100) U.S. children have food allergies.³

• In 2024, 10 out of 100 non-Hispanic Black adults had food allergies, compared to 6 out of 100 non-Hispanic White adults.²
  • 8 out of 100 non-Hispanic Black children have food allergies, compared to 5 out of 100 non-Hispanic White children.⁴
• Male children are more likely than female children to have food allergy, but female adults are more likely than male adults to have food allergy.^2,3
  • 6 out of 100 male children have food allergy, compared to 5 out of 100 female children.³
  • 8 out of 100 female adults have food allergy, compared to 5 out of 100 male adults.²
• Around 1 in 700 people in the United States have EoE⁵
  • EoE is more common in males than females, and most common in people aged 40-44 years old.⁵
• FPIES affects about 900,000 people in the United States, including about 1 in every 200 children and 1 in every 500 adults.⁶

What Are the Most Frequent Food Allergens?

• Nine foods cause most food allergy reactions in the United States:^7,8,9
  • Milk allergy affects 2 in 100 children and adults
  • Egg allergy affects 1 in 100 children and adults
  • Peanut allergy affects 2 in 100 children and adults
  • Tree nut (for example almond, walnut, pecan, cashew, pistachio) allergy affects 1 in 100 children and adults
  • Fish (for example bass, flounder, cod) allergy affects 1 in 100 children and adults
  • Shellfish (for example crab, shrimp, scallop, clam) allergy affects 1 in 100 children and 3 in 100 adults
  • Wheat allergy affects 1 in 200 children and 1 in 100 adults
  • Soy affects 1 in 200 children and adults
  • Sesame allergy affects 1 in 500 children and adults

• Milk is the most common food allergy in children, followed by egg and peanut.¹⁰
• Shellfish is the most common food allergy in adults, followed by peanut and treenut.¹⁰
• Milk, wheat, and egg are the most common food triggers of EoE.¹¹
• Milk, oat, rice, and avocado are the most common food triggers of FPIES.¹²

How Are Food Allergies Managed and Treated?

• Although treatments are available, there is currently no cure for food allergies.⁷
• Early recognition and learning how to manage food allergies, including which foods to avoid, are important measures to prevent serious health problems.⁷
• People with food allergies should carefully read food ingredient labels and always ask about ingredients before eating food prepared by other people.⁷
• Epinephrine is the first line of treatment for anaphylaxis.¹³
• It is critical to recognize and treat anaphylaxis early and without delay.
• People with diagnosed IgE-mediated food allergies should always have epinephrine with them. If anaphylaxis is suspected, epinephrine should be given right away and without delay to prevent severe complications (health problems).^14,15
• If a person is having anaphylaxis, they should:
  • Follow their Anaphylaxis Action Plan, a written plan created with a health care provider
  • Use their epinephrine right away and without delay
  • Get emergency medical care as needed if symptoms have not resolved^14,15

How Many People Seek Medical Care for Anaphylaxis?

• On average, it is estimated that anaphylaxis results in 45,000-50,000 emergency room visits in the United States each year.¹⁶
• Food is the most common allergen leading to emergency room visits.

Do People Die from Anaphylaxis or Food Allergy?

• Food allergies are manageable and deaths are largely preventable.
• Deaths from anaphylaxis are extremely rare. Across the general population, anaphylaxis is the cause of about 1 out of every 2 million deaths each year.¹⁷ Most of these are caused by drug allergy.
• Deaths caused by food allergy reactions are even rarer. Fewer than 1 in every 10 million deaths are caused by food-induced anaphylaxis each year.¹⁷
•  

What Are the Economic Costs of Food Allergy?

• A 2025 study estimates that food allergies may cost the United States nearly $371 billion per year.¹⁸
•  

Are Food Allergies Outgrown?

• Milk, egg, wheat, and soy allergies are often outgrown. Most people do not outgrow peanut, tree nut, fish, and shellfish allergies.¹⁰

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Food Allergy Facts and Figures