HYPERSENSITIVITY TO FOOD ADDITIVES IN CHILDREN: ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES AND PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF DIAGNOSTIC SEARCH AND CLINICAL OBSERVATION
Keywords:
food additives, children, hypersensitivity, food allergy, indexAbstract
The article presents an analysis of the causes of the occurrence and the diagnostic search for hypersensitivity to food additives in children. Food additives are substances of natural and artificial origin, specially incorporated into foods in order to achieve certain technological effects (color, resistance to deterioration, preservation of structure and external appearance). The article shows that most "harmful" food additives are present in meat, dairy and confectionery products, drinks, sauces, canned goods, and spices. The most threatening to the development of allergic reactions in children (dermatitis, urticaria) are the following additives: E 102 – tartrazine, E 103 - alkaline, E 104 – yellow quinoline, E 105 – trans-parent yellow, E 110 – yellow "sunset", E 111 – orange alpha-naphthol, E 122 – carmoazine, E 123 – amaranth, E 124 – ponso 4R, E 126 – ponso 6R. Regarding the preservatives, the most commonly spread triggers of allergic reactions are benzoates (E 210-219) and sulfites (E 220-229), which can cause urticaria, dermatitis, bronchial asthma exacerbations, and anaphylaxis.
On the example of two clinical cases, the observation of the development of severe allergic reactions associated with the harmful effects of certain nutritional additives (E 102 – tartrazine and E 110 – yellow "sunset") could be conducted.
Thus, it is necessary to teach patients to read and correctly interpret the information on the packaging of the products. Brightly colored foods, products with an intense smell and long shelf life are often a source of "harmful" food additives. The longer is the list of the ingredients of the product on the packaging; the higher is the likelihood that it contains questionable ingredients.
References
2. Недельська С.М. Порівняльна характеристика методів діагностики гіперчутливості до харчових продуктів у дітей / С.М. Недельська, О.П. Пахольчук // Астма та алергія. – 2017. – № 2. – С. 23-29.
3. Time to symptom improvement using elimination diets in non-IgE mediated gastrointestinal food allergies / L.A. Chebar, R. Meyer, K.C. De et al. / Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2015; 26: 403-408.
4. Disease-specific health-related quality of life instruments for IgE-mediated food allergy / [Salvilla S.A., Dubois A.E., Flokstra-de Blok B.M., Panesar S.S., Worth A., Patel S.,et al.] ; Allergy. – 2014; 69: 834-844.
5. Flammarion S. Diet and nutritional status of children with food allergies / S. Flammarion, C. Santos, D. Guimber et al.; Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2011; 22: 161-165.
6. Hannuksela M. Food additive hypersensitivity – near myth / M. Hannu-ksela, T. Haathela; Duodecim 2009; 125: 527-32.
7. John M. James. Food allergy / James M. John, Wesley Burks, Philippe Eigenmann; Elsevier Inc. 2012. P. 113-127, 143-204.
8. Rymarczyk Barbara. Dodatki spożywcze jako czynnik wywołujący objawy nadwrażliwości pokarmowej u osób dorosłych / B. Rymarczyk, J. Glück, B. Rogala; Alergia. Astma. Immunologia. – 2014. – 19 (1). – P. 35-41.
